Tag Archives: Perplexity

Watching movies/TV on the iPhone

Posted on by

The remote for our big LG TV died so I watched an episode of Mayor of Easttown on my iPhone last night. I do that from time to time and once again I found this a very satisfying experience. At no time did I have a sense of “this is such a tiny little screen.”

I asked Perplexity about typical movie/TV viewing distance on mobil phones:

“Studies that look at smartphone viewing distances for video and general “digital device” use show that phones are commonly viewed at around about 12–14 inches, similar to reading distance. Experimental work that tested video viewing at 20 cm vs. 40 cm used those as realistic “near” and “far” smartphone distances, supporting the idea that typical use falls somewhere between them, with averages in the low 30‑cm range.”

That’s pretty much me. Had the phone propped against a pillow on my stomach. This works for me (and others?) because the relative screen size is about the same, as I attempted to show in this 10 second video. Continue reading →

Riggs Motor Company (1920)

Posted on by

From that same 1920 Kennett High School album. My favorite part: TELEPHONE No. 62. John liked: “We repair anything from a Motorcycle to an Airplane.”

Dodge Brothers Motor Cars was the name under which Horace and John Dodge began producing their own automobiles in 1914, after years of supplying parts to other Detroit automakers like Ford and Oldsmobile.

Founding and Rise – The Dodge brothers opened their first machine shop in Detroit in 1900, quickly gaining a reputation for precision-engineered components. They supplied Ford’s Model A with complete chassis assemblies and even held a 10% ownership stake in Ford Motor Company. In July 1914, they incorporated the Dodge Brothers Motor Company with $5 million in stock and introduced their first automobile—the Dodge Model 30–35 touring car—built in Hamtramck, Michigan.

Innovations – The 1914 Dodge car was marketed as a more advanced and durable alternative to the Ford Model T, featuring an all-steel body, 12‑volt electric system, and a 35‑horsepower four‑cylinder engine. These innovations helped the brand quickly achieve second place in U.S. sales by 1916.

Wartime and Growth – During World War I, the Dodge Brothers supplied commercial and military trucks as well as artillery recoil systems for the Allied forces. By 1919, production surpassed 400,000 vehicles annually, and the company introduced its first four‑door sedan.

Legacy and Ownership Changes – Both brothers died in 1920 due to complications from influenza, and without their leadership, the company struggled to maintain its early momentum. In 1925, their widows sold the firm to Dillon, Read & Co. for $146 million, and in 1928, Dodge was acquired by Walter P. Chrysler to become part of Chrysler Corporation.

Today, the Dodge brand remains part of Stellantis, continuing a legacy that began with the pioneering Dodge Brothers Motor Cars more than a century ago. (Perplexity)

1969 Pontiac Catalina

Posted on by

[Perplexity] “The 1969 Pontiac Catalina was a full-size car produced by Pontiac, a division of General Motors, as part of its long-running Catalina line that spanned from 1950 to 1981. By 1969, the Catalina had established itself as Pontiac’s most popular and accessible full-size model, serving as the entry point to the brand’s big-car lineup. It was available in a wide range of body styles, including sedans, two- and four-door hardtops, convertibles, and both six- and nine-passenger station wagons.” (more below)

Paul’s latest acquisition. Not sure what he has plans for this beauty but to my untrained eye it is in very good condition for a fifty-year-old car. This had to be popular with Mafia button men because you can comfortably fit three bodies in the trunk with room for a spare.

ChatGPT: “confidently explanatory mode”

Posted on by

Also known as, “Bullshit Mode.”

ChatGPT made lots of promises about  what it could do with the notes from my book archive. (See “bellyflop” post) I gave it another little test yesterday.

Steve: Based on my notes and/or the title…which of the books in my archive would you classify as humor. A simple bulleted list of titles will be sufficient.

I’ve tagged 19 of the books in my library with “Humor.” Most of which are obvious from the title (and the cover!). ChatGPT found five and only one of those might be considered humor. When I pointed this out the bullshit started flowing… Continue reading →

A New Kind of Data

Posted on by

We’re told that LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity, et al… are “trained” on massive amounts of data. Theoretically, ‘all’ of the data. And that training continues, one assumes. But a new (?) sort of data is being created. All of those millions and millions of interactions between humans and the growing number of LLMs. 

How —if at all— does that data differ from the original corpus? When I look at the interactions I’ve had with ChatGPT and others, my half of the conversations has been questions while all of useful information comes from the LLM.

Do these interactions contribute in any useful way to the corpus?

ChatGPT reply »

She concludes with the question: “Is this a new form of literature?”

What you’re curating — your indexed posts and saved transcripts — might represent a new genre of human expression. Not fiction. Not diary. Not essay. But conversational co-authorship with a thinking machine. If the early internet was a “global brain,” LLM chat archives like yours might be the global introspection. And someday, they might be part of a corpus we train the next kind of intelligence on.