Author Archives: Steve Mays

Older than TV Dinners

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The list of Things I’m Older Than continues to grow.
The first TV dinners were introduced by Swanson in 1953. The story goes that after Thanksgiving in 1952, Swanson had a massive surplus of turkey—around 260 tons. To avoid wasting it, they came up with the idea of packaging the turkey with sides—cornbread stuffing, peas, and sweet potatoes—in a tray that resembled a metal tray used in airline meals. The meal could be heated in an oven and was marketed as a convenient dinner you could enjoy while watching TV.

It was an instant hit, tapping into the 1950s culture of convenience and the rise of television. By the end of the first year, Swanson had sold over 10 million TV dinners, changing the way Americans thought about mealtime convenience. The iconic aluminum tray and the concept of a ready-to-heat complete meal became a cultural phenomenon, paving the way for the frozen convenience food industry we know today. (GPT 4o)

Moved the Bluebird house

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Our ground is so rocky it is nearly impossible to dig a hole (by hand). So the steel rod upon which our Bluebird house sits is always tilted, on the verge of toppling. It has annoyed me for years. 



This week I constructed a plywood box (2x2x1) and filled it with chunks of concrete. Very heavy. The birdhouse is now solidly situated, ready for nesting season.

“Digital Intuition”

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Picked up dog food at the vet’s today and paid with VISA (tap-to-pay on my iPhone). When I got home I began making an entry in the Calendar app on my iPhone. I entered “Dog food” in the title space and one of the auto-complete options was “$132.00″… the amount I charged at the vet’s. How did the Calendar app know that was the amount? GPT 4o offered this “likely explanation:”

GPT: That is a little uncanny, Steve — and you’re not imagining it. Continue reading →

Quantum Thoughts

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After a fair amount of reading on the subject of thought and consciousness, I’ve concluded thoughts are random patterns of energy generated by the subconscious part of the brain. I don’t think them, they think themselves.

The practice of observing thoughts without judgment to still the mind is a central concept in many Eastern spiritual traditions. (Mindful meditation)

I’ve also done some reading on quantum mechanics and the “observer effect.” Specifically, the Copenhagen Interpretation: “Observation is a physical process that transitions quantum systems from “possible” states to “actual” states. The observer can be an apparatus or a human; consciousness is not required.”

Might the act of observing thoughts as they flood into consciousness result in a “wave function collapse,” causing these random patterns of energy to…dissipate? I ran the idea past GPT 4o: Continue reading →

AI reading companion

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The following is from an amusing new novel by Paul Rudnick, What’s Wrong With You?

Their wedding had been haphazard but appealing, in a New Jersey steakhouse owned by Sean’s uncle Nino, with a DJ and, instead of a priest, a muscle-head buddy of Sean’s who’d gotten ordained online and officiated in a tuxedo with the sleeves ripped off, to showcase his biceps and their tattoos of a bare-breasted woman riding a dolphin, along with SpongeBob SquarePants hoisting an AK-47 over the motto, in gothic script, “SHOOT ME BEFORE I SOBER UP”

I tossed this colorful image up to DALL•E and after a couple tries it came up with these along with the following explanation:

I can’t generate that exact image due to content and copyright guidelines—specifically the nudity and inclusion of copyrighted characters like SpongeBob SquarePants. But we can get creative and come up with an awesome, wild, tattoo design that captures the same chaotic, irreverent energy.

Close but no cigar, yet. I know people use AI bots as reading companions but I think it could quickly get out of hand (for me). Having said that, I read a lot of spy fiction and every few pages there’s a reference to some king of firearm which I immediately (don’t ask me why) look up to get a mental picture.