CRITTER CHATTER: Fox news: And I don’t mean the cable channel

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by Jayne Winters

In mid-April, I got a call from Don at the Duckpond Wildlife Rehab Center, asking if I still wanted to take pictures of a “little red.” I’m always up for a photo opportunity, especially of young critters, so I headed over expecting to see a baby red squirrel in one of the incubators. When I arrived, however, the incubators were empty and Don pointed to a plastic pet carrier in the living room. I peeked inside and looked into the sweetest face of a tiny fox kit!

Her background story was, of course, sad. She had been found by the side of the road in the Belfast area; Don suspected the mother fox had been moving her litter to a new den and, at some point in crossing the road, was startled by a car and dropped this little girl. He guessed her age to be about four weeks old. The plaintive cries coming out of the carrier were truly heartbreaking; l assumed she was missing her litter mates and scared of being in a strange place with humans. As soon as I opened the latch, she popped right out for her photo shoot and became interested in her new surroundings.

Like most red fox kits, “our” little girl has soft fuzzy fur, mostly gray, except for a white tip on her tail. When I visited last week, she was very playful and active, apparently thriving under adoptive parental care. Wild animals have higher metabolisms and different nutritional requirements than a domestic kitten or puppy, so it’s important to provide the right type of fat and protein. She’s currently being fed a mixture of canned dog food and milk replacement, four times a day. Even as an adult, she would not be fed dry food as it has too much ash, which can cause kidney stones or even death. Foxes are canines, closely related to wolves and dogs, so should not be fed pork, cat food, or anything toxic to dogs, like chocolate or grapes. As she gets older, she’ll be gradually transitioned to all canned dog food, with occasional raw chicken as a treat. Don is also treating her for mites, as she has evidence of bites under her fur, and he wants to ward off mange.

Don was hoping another kit would be admitted so the two of them could share a pen outside, once they’re a bit bigger and the weather warms up (especially overnight). Last week, a second fox kit was rescued, but he’s larger and wary (which is a good thing), not good roommate material at the moment. It’s likely there will be more kits brought to Duck Pond in the upcoming weeks, so hopefully “Little Red” [my name for her] will bond with one or more of them.

The goal of rehabbing is to not only rescue and nurture injured and/or abandoned animals, but to return them to the natural environment where they belong. I asked Don how younger kits are “trained” to hunt so they can be successfully returned to the wild. Not to my surprise, it’s a difficult task. Over time, dead mice will be put in the outside pen, hidden in hay or under brush, so the kits can “hunt” for their food. Their survival in the wild depends on their ability to fend for themselves and avoid human contact. It’s hard to maintain minimal contact with the very young animals when you have to feed them frequently (often with a bottle) and provide health care. The sooner “Little Red” can be outside the carrier, out of the house and in the natural outside elements, and with others of her kind, the better her chance for successful release.

Spring is officially here and there are signs of new life everywhere, from plants and flowers starting to bloom to birds nesting and, of course, more calls coming in to Duck Pond about orphaned or injured critters. Don, Jane, and Debbie are certainly keeping busy! Some rescues are still being transferred to other rehabbers who are helping to keep critter care at Duck Pond manageable. Please check the following web sites to see if there is a rehabber near you: https://www.mainevetmed.org/wildlife-rehabilitation or https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/living-with-wildlife/orphaned-injured-wildlife/index.html –

Donald Cote operates Duck Pond Wildlife Care Center on Rte. 3 in Vassalboro. It is a non-profit state permitted rehab facility which is supported by his own resources and outside donations. Mailing address: 1787 North Belfast Ave., Vassalboro ME 04989 TEL: (207) 445-4326. Please note the previous e-mail address is no longer monitored.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Celebrate in May (continued)

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by Debbie Walker

I am curious if anyone still does May Day? I remember it from when I was a little kid, but I hear nothing about it now. Why did we lose that one? What else have we lost?

We’re starting out with May 15th:

15 – National Choc Chip Day, Straw Hat Day.
16 – National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day, National Love a tree Day.
17 – National Cherry Cobbler Day, National Mushroom Hunting Day, National Walnut Day.
18 – National Cheese Souffle’ Day.
19 – National Devils Food Cake Day, Plant Something Day.
20 – National Women in Aerospace Day, National River Cleanup Day, Plant a Lemon Tree Day, World Bee Day.
21 – Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day, International Tea Day, National Talk Like Yoda Day.
25 – National Tap Dance Day, National Wine Day.
26 – National Blueberry Cheesecake Day.
27 – National Grape Popsicle Day, National Italian Beef Day.
28 – National Hamburger Day, Whooping Crane Day.
30 – National Creativity Day.
31 – National Macaroon Day, World Otter Day, World Parrott Day.

I do want to add that I got these May Days from a newspaper called Senior Voice of Citrus County. How many do you think you will celebrate?

Memorial Day is more than just a long weekend from work or school. However, that’s what you hear about on Tuesday morning. People get dressed up in red, white, and blue to enjoy their get-togethers. What gets less attention is the reason you have the time off.

Memorial Day deserves its own place on my page. The same little paper also had a title of Memorial Day Facts, and here they are:

The holiday started after the Civil War which ended in 1865. The Civil War claimed 620,000 soldiers’ lives. This made it necessary to create the first national cemetery. And over the next decade Americans started to hold their own rituals each spring to honor lost soldiers, by decorating their graves.

After World War I, it became a time to honor all who have died in all American wars. In 1971 it became a national holiday by an act of Congress. It was originally known as Decoration Day, when the emphasis of the holiday was on the memory of our soldiers who fought for us.

In May 1868 Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared the holiday be observed at the end of May. It is believed he chose that date because flowers would be blooming and ready to be used to decorate the graves.

Federal guidelines indicate that flags on the holiday be hung at half-staff. But only until noon, then they should be raised the rest of the way. There is also a Moment of Remembrance, at 3 p.m., local time, around the country.

The finish today will be some morning statements:

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – by Robert Louis Stevenson.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius.

I’m just curious what May holidays you will enjoy!! Contact me with any questions or comments at DebbieWalker@townline.org . I’ll be looking forward to them!! Have a wonderful week!

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Maine Novelist Ruth Moore

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Ruth Moore

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Maine Novelist Ruth Moore

Maine novelist Ruth Moore (1903-1989) was born on Gott’s Island, spent several years as an adult out of state, and published the very successful novel Spoonhandle in 1946, which was adapted for the 1948 movie Deep Waters; the money enabled her to move back to Maine for the rest of her life.

During the 1930s, Moore was active in the NAACP , having begun working as a researcher. In 1930, she traveled to the Deep South where her investigation led to the release of two African-American men who had been falsely accused of murder.

A very powerful opening in Moore’s 1943 novel The Weir which takes place on one of the outlying islands along the Maine coast resonates on a universal level with any of us who sat through long years of school in quiet desperation:

“Sayl Comey went to school every day, but it seemed to him that things got worse instead of better. He couldn’t get used to the routine, and he couldn’t see any sense in what went on. In class he presented a face of bleak and absolute boredom.”

A writer well worth checking out.

The Adventures of Superman

George Reeves

My favorite childhood TV show was The Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves (1914-1959). One particular episode started the 1953 season, 5 Minutes to Doom, which guest starred Dabbs Greer (1917-2007) as an innocent man wrongly sentenced to the electric chair. The depiction of the chair itself has stayed in my memory for decades, it was so well filmed.

Arvo Volmer

Arvo Volmer

Now 60, the quite gifted Estonian conductor Arvo Volmer recorded the 7 Symphonies, Finlandia, Valse Triste and Violin Concerto (with soloist Adele Anthony), of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius between 2007 and 2010 with the Adelaide Symphony of Australia for the ABC Classics label on 4 CDs; while these performances don’t have the craggy power of other conductors (Sibelius used the entire string/woodwind/brass/percussion apparatus of the modern orchestra to evoke the rocky ocean landscape, fields, woodlands and hills that are so similar to our own Maine), they do have a lot of poetry and are quite effective on their own terms.

For anyone new to classical music, I recommend sampling any of the many YouTubes of Sibelius’s music, especially the stirring patriotic Finlandia, the rhythmically gripping Violin Concerto, the powerful 1st and 2nd Symphonies with their rich outpourings of gorgeous, brilliantly sustained melody and the haunting mystery of Valse Triste and the otherworldly Swan of Tuonela.

Country Music Anthologies

During the early 1980s, Time Life Records marketed a series of LP anthologies devoted to country music artists and sold them by mail and through supermarkets.

They included Hank Williams, Chet Atkins, George Jones (of course), Johnny Cash, Elvis, Barbara Mandrell, Tammy Wynette, etc.

I recently listened to the one devoted to Waylon Jennings (1937-2002) which contains nine selections drawn from his albums for RCA Victor and include Brown Eyed Handsome Man, MacArthur Park, Ladies Love Outlaws and Love of the Common People.

The man knew how to communicate a song in an impressive manner.

FOR YOUR HEALTH – Lyme Disease Prevention and Awareness in Maine: What You Need to Know

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As warmer months approach, the prevalence of ticks and the risk of contracting Lyme disease increase, especially in Maine. The state has consistently ranked high for Lyme disease cases, making it crucial for residents to be informed about prevention measures and early detection.

Lyme disease, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks. In recent years, the number of reported cases of Lyme disease in Maine has significantly increased. According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), there were 2,079 confirmed cases in 2021, reflecting a steady rise in numbers over the past decade.

As climate change continues to affect Maine’s ecosystem, warmer temperatures and milder winters contribute to the expansion of tick populations. This, in turn, increases the risk of Lyme disease transmission. Maine residents need to be vigilant in their efforts to prevent tick bites and seek prompt treatment if bitten.

Prevention remains the best defense against Lyme disease. Experts recommend taking the following precautions during outdoor activities, particularly in wooded and grassy areas:

  • Use insect repellent: Apply repellents containing at least 20% DEET on exposed skin and clothing. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website offers a tool to help select the right repellent for your needs.
  • Wear protective clothing: Opt for long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toe shoes when venturing into tick-prone areas. Light-colored clothing makes it easier to spot ticks.
  • Treat clothing and gear: Apply permethrin, an insecticide, to clothes, shoes, and camping gear for added protection.
  • Avoid tick habitats: Stay on well-trodden paths and avoid tall grasses and brushy areas where ticks are commonly found.
  • Perform tick checks: After spending time outdoors, thoroughly check yourself, your children, and your pets for ticks. Pay special attention to areas like the scalp, behind the ears, armpits, and the groin.

If you find a tick on your body, remove it as soon as possible using fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick close to the skin’s surface and pull upward with steady, even pressure. After removal, clean the bite area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

Early detection and treatment of Lyme disease are vital to preventing severe complications. If you notice a tick bite, watch for symptoms like fever, chills, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, swollen lymph nodes, and the characteristic “bull’s-eye” rash. These symptoms may appear anywhere from three to 30 days after the bite. If you experience any of these symptoms or suspect you’ve been bitten by a tick, consult your healthcare provider immediately.

Maine has implemented various programs to educate the public about Lyme disease prevention and control. The Maine CDC offers a “Tick Identification Program,” where residents can submit ticks for identification and testing. This helps track tick populations and the prevalence of Lyme disease in the state.

Furthermore, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension provides resources and conducts tick workshops for residents to learn more about tick identification, habitat management, and personal protection.

Public awareness and preventative measures are essential to curbing the rise in Lyme disease cases in Maine. As tick populations grow, residents must take necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families from the risks posed by these tiny yet dangerous creatures.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Unusual sighting turns out to be common

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

It’s simply amazing what you come across in the woods of Maine. While preparing to open camp for the season, my wife and I were helping friends do some raking and leaf pickup, when the wife showed me something that she had raked up. It looked kind of odd. OK, something else I had never seen in the 34 years my wife and I have been there.

Aylostera vulpina, a common house cactus, native to Bolivia and Argentina.

It was round, like an orb, a little smaller than a tennis ball. Brown in color, with black bristles all over the exterior. At one end was a hole with what appeared to be dried mud inside.

That evening, I perused through the myriad of books I own and found nothing that really resembled it. The closest I came was that of a milkweed stock, but still didn’t look the same. So, I turned to my contact at the Maine Depart­ment of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in Augusta. His initial thought was a gall, but he would confer with his botanist colleagues.

Basically, a gall is a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants or animals. They are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or warts on animals. They are caused by various parasites, from fungi and bacteria, to insects and mites. They are highly organized structures and because of this the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. In human pathology, a gall is a raised sore on the skin, usually caused by chafing or rubbing.

In the end, what we had found was not a gall.

Several emails later, my contact replied following some consultations with the botanists, and were wondering if it might be a Chestnut gall. This would only be possible if we had a mature Chestnut tree on the premises. There are none that we are aware.

Then, another state botanist concluded there are no trees in Maine with galls that have multiple spines from the same attachment point and therefore he speculated that it was most likely a cactus house plant that was thrown away in the yard some time ago.

He concluded the orb was possibly that of the Aylostera vulpina plant, a cactus that is native to Bolivia and Argentina, but very popular as house potted plants. In the wilds of South America, they grow at altitudes of 3,400 – 3,900 feet. I was not able to find a common name for them.

The plant is easy to grow and recommended for beginners. They prefer a gritty, porous soil mix with a pH slightly on the acidic side. Full sun to light shade. The root system is rot prone so watering should be monitored closely. It’s recommended to let the pot dry out before adding water. It is winter hardy and will sustain temperatures below freezing. They require a winter rest period.

This species of cactus will occupy a small flower pot confortably and remain a manageable sized house plant. The flower is bright red with scarlet petal tips and white stigma.

They are subject to mealy-bug attacks and to fungus and rot brought on by overwatering and high humidity.

It appears that in cultivation they grow larger and cluster more vigorously than in the wild.

The site where the pod was found has had a high turnover rate in the past 6 – 10 years so could very conceivably have been a potted house plant. The area had not been raked in quite some time.

I guess, for the time anyway, we have solved another “mystery” at camp.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

In golf, finish the following phrase: “You drive for show, but putt for…”

Answer
dough.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Holidays of May

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by Debbie Walker

I have to admit that most of this column has come from a local paper here in Florida. It’s the Senior Voice of Citrus County. The most recent one was full of May days and celebrations. We’ll start out with Mother’s Day. (Miss you Mom)

Mother’s Day was made official on May 9, 1914. President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation declaring Mother’s Day an official holiday, but the idea began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis started Mother’s Day to honor her mom.

Phone calling has been the centerpiece of Mother’s Day for years, 122 million phones, with families spread out around the world.

Greeting cards are the top of the list of Mother’s Day gifts, followed by flowers, special outings, gift cards, clothing, and jewelry.

The carnation is the official flower of Mother’s Day. The tradition began when Anna Jarvis sent hundreds of carnations to her West Virginia home church to honor mothers in that congregation. That single gesture landed the carnation in the top spot as official flower of Mother’s Day. Today the colors of the frilly blooms have specific meanings – white to honor deceased mothers and red to celebrate the living.

Americans will spend approximately $31 billion this Mother’s Day. By any measure that would be a lot of flowers, dining, greeting cards and macaroni necklaces.

It is well known that Easter and Christmas yield large church attendance. Something about mom makes people want to show reverence and focus on faith and family. Many Americans will start their Mother’s Day celebration by attending church with their moms, making it the third most attended church service.

What do mom’s want most? To quote my mom with this question, her answer would be “time”. According to a survey by RetailMeNot, what mom’s want most for Mother’s Day is to dine out with family. Many moms site reasons like not wanting to cook or wanting to get out of the house. Perhaps that’s why it’s the biggest restaurant day of the year.

I don’t want to upstage Mother’s Day, but I thought I would share some Other Things to Celebrate in May, also from the Senior Voices of Citrus County.

May 1 – National Chocolate Parfait Day, School Principals’ Day.

May 2 – International Harry Potter Day, National Brothers and Sisters Day, National Play Your Ukulele Day.

May 3 – National Chocolate Custard Day, National Textile Day.

May 4 – International Firefighters Day, National Orange Juice Day, Star Wars Day.

May 5 – Cinco de Mayo, National Astronaut Day, National Hoagie Day.

May 6 – National Scrapbooking Day.

May 7 – Pilates Day, World Laughter Day.

May 8 – National Coconut Cream Pie Day, National Give Someone a Cupcake.

May 9 – National Lost Sock Memorial Day (Who knew there was a holiday for Orphaned Socks!).

May 10 – National Clean Your Room Day, National Golf Day

May 13 – International Hummus Day, National Apple Pie Day, National Miniature Golf Day.

May 14 ­­– Mother’s Day.

Hopefully I will remember to finish this next week when I have more words.

I’m just curious how you celebrate mom rather she is here or passed. Contact me with any comments or questions, or anything you want to share, at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a wonderful week.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Thomas Woodrow Wilson

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Woodrow Wilson

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Thomas Woodrow Wilson

The 28th president, Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), had been a professor of history and president of Princeton University before being lured into New Jersey Democratic party politics, and he soon found out that he enjoyed politics a lot . In the three-way race of 1912, Taft and Roosevelt split the vote among Republicans, thus assuring Wilson the White House.

A little more background: Wilson was the son of a Presbyterian minister, was born in Virginia but spent most of his childhood in Georgia where his father had taken another church position and moved the family.

He got degrees from Princeton and Johns Hopkins and studied enough law at the University of Virginia Law School and through home study to get admitted to the bar in Georgia where he practiced for a short period of time.

But he was drawn back to academic life and taught at both Bryn Mawr College, in Pennsylvania, and Wesleyan University, in Connecticut, after which he was offered a professorship at Princeton in 1890 .

Wilson wrote at least nine books and numerous articles; I highly recommend his five volume The History of the American People, published between 1901-1902, which I own and read most of, finding his narrative gifts superb.

After teaching there for 12 years, Woodrow Wilson was appointed president of Princeton, in 1902, and brought about a reorganization of the curriculum with an emphasis on campus life being one of serious study and not socializing. But he absolutely would not allow any African-Americans admission.

In 1910 Wilson was elected governor of New Jersey and served for two years before he was elected president of the United States.

Wilson had a world view mixture of Deep South Confederacy racism as a believer in segregation, progressivism when it came to such issues as workman’s compensation, regulation of public utilities and cronyism in government and, later in his presidency, internationalism in his pro-active participation in the Paris peace talks and his fight to establish the League of Nations. There is a vast amount of material on the pros and cons of his eight years in the White House, in particular his last two years after suffering a series of strokes.

Wilson was married first to Ellen Axson (1860-1914) who was studying art in New York City but gave it up to be a wonderful helpmate to her husband and gave birth to three daughters, Margaret, Jessie, and Eleanor.

Jessie married a Harvard professor Francis Sayre, Eleanor her father’s Secretary of the Treasury William McAdoo, while Margaret remained single indulging her love of culture and beauty (a photograph shows her listening to records which resonated with yours truly on a very personal level.).

In 1915, Wilson met a widow Edith Bolling Galt (1872-1961), and initiated an ardent courtship; by December, they were married.

After Wilson’s incapacitating strokes, the country was pretty much being secretly run by the First Lady, Wilson’s physician Dr. Cary Grayson and his private secretary Joe Tumulty while Vice-President Thomas Marshall was kept out of the loop.

After leaving the White House in 1921, the couple moved to a house on S Street which has since become a tourist attraction.

On Veterans Day in 1923, the former president summoned enough strength to give a brief speech to people gathered in front of his house in which he stated:

“I have seen fools resist Providence before and I have seen their destruction, and it will come upon these again, utter destruction and contempt; that we shall prevail is as sure as that God reigns.”

On February 3, 1924, Woodrow Wilson died at the age of 67; his successor Warren G. Harding had passed away the previous August and been succeeded by Calvin Coolidge, who was among the tiny group of mourners at Wilson’s funeral held at the S Street residence.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Jump Start Your Spring with Tips for a Healthy Household

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(NAPSI)—As the days get longer and the temperatures warm up, spring is the perfect time to take stock of your household and your health. This season is a time of renewal and rejuvenation, offering the opportunity to make some simple moves to improve your overall well-being.

 To make the most out of a spring refresh, we’ve rounded up some of our top cleaning and health and wellness tips:

 •Clean high-touch surfaces. Cleaning surfaces in your home helps prevent the spread of germs that can make you sick, including COVID-19 and other viruses. High-touch surfaces, such as light switches, doorknobs, and countertops, should be cleaned regularly, especially after having visitors over. Make sure to use household cleaners that contain soap or detergent to ensure you are removing germs that could cause illness. 

•Wipe down your electronics. Many of us might remember to disinfect our phones, but it’s easy to forget that remote controls, keyboards, tablets, and other electronics all need a good scrub to keep germs at bay. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations for cleaning.

•Break projects into small chunks. You don’t have to tackle your house from floor to ceiling to make progress on your healthy household plans. Rather, pick one 10-minute task to complete each day, such as wiping down counters, starting a load of laundry, or vacuuming the blinds. Smaller tasks can seem more manageable and will get your refresh kickstarted. 

•Improve the ventilation in your home. Spring is a great time to check your air filters, making sure they are installed properly and replacing them as necessary. Doing so reduces air pollutants and virus particles in your home, helping to stop the spread of disease. In addition, you could consider adding a portable air cleaner to improve ventilation and reduce the number of germs in the air that people exhale when breathing, talking, singing, coughing, and sneezing.

•Restock your medicine cabinet. Take some time to check the expiration dates on your medications and then purchase new items that you might need, like nasal sprays, allergy medications, and first aid materials. It’s also a good idea to have extra COVID home testing kits on hand as well. With insurance or flexible spending accounts covering many health products, including at-home COVID testing kits, now is the time to stock up. 

•Make sure you are up to date on your COVID vaccine. No one wants to get sidelined with COVID this spring, so consider getting the latest vaccine to keep your household healthy. Updated COVID vaccines are now recommended for children and adults if their last dose was before September 2022. 

 “As spring hits its full stride, it’s a great time to make sure you are prioritizing your health and well-being,” said Dr. Sonia Valdez, Chief Nursing Officer for National Healthcare and Housing Advisors. “One important way to do that is by making sure you’ve gotten a free, updated COVID vaccine, which can boost your immune system even if you’ve had COVID already.”

For more information about COVID vaccines and to find a vaccine near you, go to vaccines.gov or text your ZIP code to 438829.

Will A.I. break the future? (TLDR: yes, yes it will)

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This picture was generated with the MidJourney AI image creation tool, using the following description: “A 16:9 image of a futuristic city in ruins, with skyscrapers crumbling and fires burning. The sky is bright and orange, with clouds of smoke and dust. In the center of the image, a giant metal robot stands on the ground, holding a gun in its right hand and a sword in its left. The robot is sleek and shiny, with wires and antennas on its head. It has a large eye-like lens in the middle of its face, and a mouth-like grill below it. It is the AI that has caused the apocalypse, and it is looking for any survivors to eliminate. The image is at a high resolution of 5K, with sharp details and vivid colors. The image conveys a mood of horror and despair, as the AI dominates the world and destroys humanity.”

by Eric W. Austin

Can machines think? How do we even define thinking, and how can we recognize it in anyone other than ourselves? These questions are becoming increasingly important as recent advancements in artificial intelligence blur the line between human cognition and digital simulation. The progress made in language processing through the use of neural networks, which simulate the functioning of a human brain, has yielded results that have surprised many, including myself. In this article, I will share my experience playing with two of these new tools over the past several weeks.

On the most basic level, the two major breakthroughs in AI fall into two broad categories: textual processing and image generation. New tools and apps that employ this new technology are popping up in different variations everywhere, so there are many different tools to try out, but this article is based on my experience with two of the most popular: Chat-GPT and MidJourney AI.

First, let’s discuss the technology behind these advances in artificial intelligence and why they represent such a significant leap forward in achieving human-like responses from a computer. Traditional AI was primarily rules-based, with programmers coding specific instructions for situations the computer might encounter. While effective, this approach was limited by the programmer’s foresight. If the computer encountered an unplanned situation, it would be at a loss. Rules-based AI worked well for simple cause-and-effect relationships between human actions and computer responses, but programming a computer to perform more subtle tasks, such as distinguishing between the images of a dog and a cat, or writing an original essay, proved to be more challenging.

Rather than attempting to develop a program capable of handling every conceivable situation, researchers focused instead on creating learning machines inspired by the human mind and utilizing statistical modeling techniques. Terminology used to describe this technology often reflects the human physiology that inspired it. This new AI is constructed from layers of neurons that transmit information from one layer to the next, while applying sophisticated statistical modeling in order to “understand” the data it is processing.

Connections between these artificial neurons, similar to the connections between neurons in the human brain, are referred to as “synapses” and determine the flow of information within the neural network. Each neuron can be thought of as a mathematical function or algorithm that processes input data, performs a calculation, and generates a result. This output is then used as input for other neurons, which carry out additional calculations, applies further processing and passes the results along to subsequent neurons in lower-level layers.

This process converts any kind of digital input provided into numerical data that the computer can understand. The kind of input data can be diverse, ranging from a sentence in English to a picture of a squirrel. Once the input has been transformed into millions of computational data points, the AI utilizes concepts from statistical modeling to identify patterns within the result. Returning to our earlier example of distinguishing dogs, developers feed thousands of dog images into the computer. The AI then analyzes each image and detects patterns the images have in common. With feedback from developers on correct and incorrect outputs, the artificial intelligence can adjust its own models to improve results without requiring additional human programming. This process of providing data to the AI in order to improve its modeling is known as training. Once the AI has been trained to recognize specific patterns common to dog images, it can successfully identify previously unseen pictures of dogs.

Since the AI has been trained to recognize patterns and features specific to dog images, it can then utilize this knowledge to create new, original images of dogs. This is achieved through a process called generative modeling. The AI essentially learns the underlying structure and distribution of the data it has been trained on, which allows it to generate new data samples that share similar characteristics. In the case of dog images, the AI has learned the various features, such as shapes, colors, and textures, that are commonly found in pictures of dogs. By combining and manipulating these features, the AI can generate entirely new images of dogs that, while unique, still resemble real dogs in appearance. This creative capability has numerous applications, only some of which are we starting to understand or apply.

The same modeling techniques used for processing images of dogs can be applied to understanding language or analyzing other complex input. When applied on a large scale, the AI can recognize a wider variety of objects and interpret intricate input data. For instance, instead of merely examining pictures of dogs, the AI can analyze entire movies, identifying all the objects in each scene. Furthermore, it can detect patterns not only in the objects themselves but also in the relationships between them. In this manner, the AI can begin to understand the world in ways that mirror our own.

Since the AI perceives language and image information as interchangeable forms of data, it can translate textual descriptions into image data and vice versa. This means that users can describe a scene to an AI in natural language, and it can then generate an image based on their specifications. This capability has led to the development of various tools for creating artwork, of which MidJourney and Leonardo AI are two of the most popular and advanced. For example, I used the MidJourney AI tool to create the accompanying original image of a rogue robot standing in the rubble of an American city. See the caption on the photo to see what description I used to generate the image.

Unlike MidJourney, which generates images, Chat-GPT focuses on producing text. At its core, it shares similarities with the predictive text functionality found on modern smartphones. As users begin typing messages on their devices, the interface attempts to predict the intended word to speed up typing. Chat-GPT operates on a similar principle, but with far greater complexity and sophistication. Instead of merely suggesting individual words, Chat-GPT is capable of creating entire sentences and paragraphs. The applications for this are almost limitless. It can engage in knowledgeable conversations on almost any subject in a manner that is strikingly human-like and contextually responsive. It can compose essays with minimal input. In the business world, this technology has the potential to replace customer support representatives, secretaries, and any job requiring language understanding and interpretation, an area that has long eluded automation efforts.

This article has only provided a glimpse into the intricate and expansive world of this new technology. Numerous topics remain unexplored, such as the countless applications this technology can be applied to, the ethical and legal ramifications, and the potential issues surrounding AI bias or manipulation. A more in-depth discussion of these aspects will be reserved for future articles. Nevertheless, it is evident that this technology will transform our world in ways we cannot yet fathom, and it will likely do so in the very near future.

The personal computer took 20 years to revolutionize our lives, while the smartphone achieved a similar impact in under a decade. These latest advancements in artificial intelligence are poised to bring about even more profound changes in a much shorter timeframe – possibly within a few years or even months. So, buckle up, my friends, the AI apocalypse has arrived!

Eric W. Austin writes about technology and community topics. Contact him by email at ericwaustin@gmail.com.

THE BEST VIEW: Smiling faces

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by Norma Best Boucher

At first, I was embarrassed when I couldn’t remember this teacher’s name, but then I realized that teachers’ names are not written on their students’ foreheads, but what they do for their students is indelibly written on their minds.

I was going through adolescence. I hated the world, and I was sure the world hated me. My arms and legs were too long for my already too skinny body, and my hair, which had always been worn in tight side braids, was now long and stringy. I even bit my fingernails. I was too self-absorbed to notice that every other young girl looked and felt the same as I.

I sat in a corner back seat in class and saw everyone and everything that went on in the room. No one ever saw me, except, of course, when I took that long walk to the front of the room. I just knew everyone was staring at me. I did anything to avoid that walk.

I wanted to be somebody. I wanted to be special. I wanted to do something that no one else could do, and I wanted to do it well. The only individual things we ever did in class to be recognized were spelling bees, reading aloud, and playing the flash card math game. All of us could spell and read, and all the math game ever did was to prove to me and to the rest of the class that I was a math dunce.

One day, hope sprang eternal. Our class had been chosen to do a special project, and the teacher needed volunteers. Up went my hand when suddenly I heard the words “mural” and “pastels.”

Oh, no, just my luck. The only thing I did worse than math flash cards was art.

I quickly lowered my hand but not fast enough. The next words I heard were, “and Norma can be the flower girl.”

Oh, God, why me?

The mural was to have three sections. The first was to be a picture of the Waterville Savings Bank, where the mural would ultimately hang. The second section was to be a busy city street, drawn in perspective. The third was to be a friendly neighborhood setting with houses and children playing.

My job was simple, or so it seemed. All I had to do was make multi-colored dots in four rectangular flower boxes.

I worked on those boxes for what seemed forever. Every spare minute I had, I worked on those flowers, but they always looked like multi-colored dots in rectangular boxes. I erased and erased and erased again.

One day, I must have looked especially depressed. She had given me the easiest job on the entire mural, and I couldn’t even do that right. Finally, the teacher approached me.

Maybe she remembered being a young girl with long, skinny limbs, stringy hair, and bitten nails herself, or maybe she knew that the next year I would start to fill out and begin to like myself and the world. She gave me her “we can do this together” smile and asked me what my favorite flowers were.

That was easy. I liked red roses because my father gave them to my mother every year for their anniversary. I liked the pink bleeding hearts that were in front of my best friend’s house. I liked the lavender lilacs we picked on Memorial Day, even though they made me sneeze, and the lemon-colored marigolds in our neighbor’s garden that I could see from my bedroom window. Best of all, though, I liked the purple and blue pansies because they had smiling black faces.

Draw those,” she said.

“Every time you make a dot,” she explained, “remember you’re drawing red roses, pink bleeding hearts, lavender lilacs, lemon-colored marigolds, and purple and blue pansies with smiling black faces.”

That was it. When I drew dots, they looked like dots, so all I had to do was draw flowers, and they’d look like flowers.

When each student finished his/her job on the mural, the teacher always made a point of interrupting the class for the students to recognize each artist.

I remember as if it were yesterday. When I finished my window boxes, the teacher said, “Everyone, look. Norma has finished her flowers. Aren’t they the most beautiful flowers you’ve ever seen?”

At last, I was somebody.

I literally floated through the remaining days of school in anticipation of the unveiling of the mural at the Waterville Savings Bank. I rushed my parents to the bank with such excitement they must have thought I was a young Van Gogh. When I showed them what I had done, they looked at each other with questioning expressions: “All this hullabaloo for that?”

All they saw were multi-colored dots in boxes.

I looked at their puzzled faces, and I knew they didn’t understand. I saw four flower boxes filled with red roses, pink bleeding hearts, lavender lilacs, lemon-colored marigolds, and purple and blue pansies with smiling black faces.

They didn’t know – they couldn’t know – but somehow that didn’t matter. What was really important was that I knew…and she knew.

Norma Best Boucher taught English at Lawrence High School, in Fairfield, and Winslow High School. She is a freelance writer.