That Voice Inside

 No, not your conscience the other one that says the words as you read, that one is called subvocalization and most people have it. It is more than just a silent voice though as there are outward clues that are the same when speaking aloud and can be detected if you know what to watch for. So is it a good thing, or a bad thing? Two schools of thought on that question, most agree that with subvocalization comprehension is better, the flip side is that it often hinders the speed of reading. There are others who argue that unless the reader suffers hyperfixation the speed of reading is the same as the speed of speech which is around 200-250 words per minute. Though you can train yourself not to use subvocalization it is difficult for most people, and deaf people rarely use it at all as they are taught to read in a different way. 

A Win For Reality

In an attempt to show that nature could still beat machine (AI) a photographer entered a shot he called "Flamingone" which the judges awarded 3rd place and it also won the People's Vote Award. Although AI has won photography competitions they have not been disqualified after they were exposed, such as an AI  creation from 2023 titled the "The Electrician"  the same did not hold true for "Flamingone" which was disqualified after the judges found out it was real, though the photographer is okay with that as he still proved his point that there's nothing more fantastic and creative than Mother Nature herself. 

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The Electrician 

They've Been Right Before

The Native Americans had it together when it came to being good stewards of the planet, they never took more than they needed and didn't do irreparable damage. Enter the immigrants and everything goes to hell, they shoot nearly all of the buffalo and leave them to rot to clear the way for cattle, but I digress. The Lakota prophecy of a white buffalo calf that portends better times but also cautions that it means more has to be done to protect the earth and its animals has come to be tested with the birth of a rare white calf. But as with the days when the immigrants killed buffalo by the thousands Montana ranchers don't want the Yellowstone buffalo herd to be over 3,000 and again thousands are killed every year. Will we ever learn? 

Dr. Max

Max Dow is a 6 year old tabby who lives within walking distance of Vermont State University where he received his doctorate of litter-ature with the 2024 class. The odd thing is VSU doesn't award doctorate degrees to people so it was a special honor. His doctorate comes complete with cat nip perks, scratching post privileges and litter box responsibilities. The administration wanted to acknowledge all that Max has done to support the people on campus at a difficult time. Good job Max! 

Holy Vending Machine

 Does anyone want to venture a guess on what was sold in the first vending machine? In the first century CE a Greek engineer published a treatise on mechanics, it included: a never ending wine cup, rudimentary automatic doors, singing mechanical birds, various automata, the world's first steam engine, and a coin operated vending machine. The man (Heron) was hired by various temples to supply mechanical miracles to encourage faith. Some of the temples had problems with worshipers taking too much holy water so they employed his vending machine to regulate the amount dispensed. When a coin was inserted it weighed down an arm which unplugged a container of the holy water, once the coin dropped off the arm the water stopped flowing. The modern vending machines pretty much operate on the same principal. They must have been short on priests to bless the water to make it holy, why else would they be so careful about how they doled it out?  

The More Things Change

 Just when beauty pageants were finally starting to change and become less about sex appeal along comes the First Miss AI beauty pageant. Of course one would hope that the creators of the contestants might veer off the young, tan, buxom path and maybe sprinkle in some variations that hope would be spoiled when viewing the final 10 of the pageant. One judge said she would be looking more at inspiring messages than looks since they are all beautiful. Several of the contestants are advocates for different causes but again these are just shells created by AI designers so it seems kind of pointless. The winner will receive $5,000 at the end of June when the contest wraps up.

Cheesy Choice?

While most states have an official bird not many cities choose a bird. One of the exceptions is Madison, Wisconsin. Their choice stands out because it's a plastic flamingo. It started with a migration of 1,008 of the plastic ornaments as a prank in 1979. Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison woke up one morning in September to discover a flamboyance of flamingos had been placed by the school government's Pail and Shovel Party who were known for their stunts,  though it wasn't until 2009 that a newspaper lobbied the city council to officially designate the plastic bird. Since that time the prank is recreated every year as a fund raiser. Those Wisconsinites really love their cheese (read cheesy).