Things I did today

ChatGPT is a natural language processing (NLP) model developed by OpenAI. It is a variant of the GPT (Generative Pre-training Transformer) language model, which was first introduced in 2018. GPT was developed as a way to improve the performance of language models on a variety of tasks, including language translation, summarization, and question answering. It achieved state-of-the-art results on several benchmarks and quickly became a popular choice for NLP researchers and developers. Following the success of GPT, OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2020. ChatGPT is specifically designed for conversational AI applications, such as chatbots and virtual assistants. It is trained on a large dataset of human conversations and is able to generate human-like responses to user input. One of the key features of ChatGPT is its ability to remember and reference past conversations, which allows it to have more natural and contextually relevant conversations with users. It also has a number of other advance

 Today is December 27th. Had a lovely and relaxing Christmas where I received a fancy chef's knife and co-op board game based on one of my favorite movies, a set of hot pepper blends, fancy chocolates as well as a soft blanket and set of stone coasters as a needed upgrade from my cork coasters. I'm preparing for January 2023. Looks like 2023 will be the year to get in shape since my hiking group is leaning towards hiking in Alaska this fall. Good timing to start going to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the gym straight after to keep myself on the straight and narrow. I'll still want to make sure I can participate in the North Hills 5k in early September, as it'll be my 8th year in a row! I've been in PT for several months now due to hip and shoulder issues. It's been a surprise to see how weak I am. I've been focusing too much on just running and walking, and after my IVC filter, not enough of either between recovering and additional responsibilities at

 This anniversary is different because I no longer have the IVC filter! The surgery was a success, and though I needed several days to feel better, I'm back to being able to walk and run again. Just need to get my endurance up! After work, I'll have some wine at Vita Vite with Tim and Lori. And it looks like UTMC changed their website so I no longer have my 3 minute video! Oh, I'm wrong, the video exists on YouTube, just not on their website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3IjBBqcFyc Upon a run eval with my PT she said "Did you know you don't really move your right side?" Errr... no, I did not. More stretches and strength training for me!

 Not my fastest this year, but I also was less than two weeks post surgery for that IVC filter! I hadn't run in a few months so I decided to just walk fast. https://files.racereach.com/files/results/159899/result_5k_2022.txt?kick=1663679240 2016: 327/356 51:06 2017: 234/281 45:12 2018: 224/262 48:15 2019: 282/305 48:44 2020: 84/116   42:49 2021: 178/239 45:42 2022: 293/349 49:20  I'm pleased that I still beat my original time of 51:06!

 On August 29th, I had another surgery. I didn't want to have another surgery, but I learned that one of my IVC Filter struts was broken. These type of filters have been recalled since my stroke, and no longer are suggested to be permanent. Too often, the filters (or pieces of them) have been migrating to other parts of the body, causing worse damage. The procedure was to have two doctors, one at the right jugular and the other at the right femoral vein, to remove the filter using sheaths to collapse and bring out the filter. Since it had not moved and the original broken strut was still in place, the doctors felt there was a high chance of the surgery being no big deal. It was only a medium deal. It took 3 hours, and I felt pretty beat up afterward. It was a success, though, despite the filter not wanting to leave. They were able to remove it and I was able to go home a few hours later. I have a follow up with the doc in November after another CT scan. Hopefully everything looks g

 I went with one of my friends to Jose and Sons Mexican restaurant on Glenwood Avenue and Pleasant Valley Road. I picked this place as I'd hear a lot of good things about it, and we were there early before the place got busy.  We were not impressed. The server was slow to get us our drinks, and did not get us chips and salsa, bur I could see his other tables got chips and salsa - turns out it was from a runner. We got ours eventually, (not from the server) but the first five minutes of our meal, we just stared at a bowl of guac and our two waters. No matter, maybe he was new. Maybe the kitchen was frying a new batch of chips. Maybe the bartender was new. While waiting, we noticed that the place looked like it needed new paint. In our booth, the pink paint was chipping off the wall. I was confused, because I thought they just moved here from downtown. They didn't even give the place a new coat of paint before moving in? The chips were warm, not hot, and the salsa was very sweet.

Today is a fun day, 2/22/22, which also happens to be on a Tuesday! While my February challenge has been a challenge to get started - so far I've just read half the photography book and complained about the weather outside, I've not been a lump! I'm enjoying these games nearly daily: Wordle: Well before the NYT takeover, this has been my favorite 'during coffee' ritual. https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html Worldle: Wordle but with maps. https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/ Nerdle: Wordle but with math equations https://nerdlegame.com/ I reread The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - fun book I've not read in about 25 years. I had never continued to finish the series, so I'll do that now. Prince Caspian is next! I'm also halfway through the Roll Player Adventure campaign game. That's been quite fun after a reread of the rules when it was just failure after failure. I'm looking forward to the last 6 adventures, but not for them to end, but because

  January:  Practice piano for a half hour each day. Could be etudes, scales, fake book songs, real songs, or Alfred's adult learner books. The only stipulation is to practice piano each day for a half hour. Successful! I played a half hour most days, and for days that I didn't get to the piano (it only happened 4 times through the month) I managed to play for an hour the day following. I started the month playing some from Alfred's Adult Learner books, but by the second week, I was enjoying the fake books I had purchased the year before. While I did switch from the Christmas songs after mid January, the classical songs fake book allowed me to enjoy songs that were out of reach for me before because my bass clef sight reading is atrocious. However this made me even worse on bass clef sight reading - I went back to the Alfred's Adult Learner book and was surprised how I'd forgotten a lot of the songs I was already proficient on! I guess I'll have to make sure tha

 Four snacks left in the box! What a fun present this has been! #1 Nutzz Party I assumed this was peanuts with a spicy flavored mix, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was not only peanuts, but also corn nuts (I didn't look that closely to the package, clearly) which I really like. It was a very tasty mix, and I'd absolutely eat this again! Nuts, popped corn kernels and ball-shaped chips, all covered with herb mix, either cheddar, onion flavored or burning hot! It also has honey and mustard flavor which is a new mix for many Turkish snack lovers. Nutzz comes with a basic snacking kit in small sizes to have it on the go. It tastes like Krispi crackers, what do you think? Rating: 4/5 though I don't think it tastes like Krispi crackers. #2 Kagit Helva The directions state this is best used as a way to make an ice cream sandwich. I happened to have some Tillamook vanilla ice cream in the back of the freezer, neglected due to the whole SIBO thing in 2020. Decided I can carve

 Another round of treats! This one will be a little different, as I'm not often fond of fruit candies, and there are two left. And one more coconut (shudder) but for posterity, I'll try it as well. I'll continue leaving the marketing descriptions for each in italics. #1 Biscolata A good but simple treat. Nothing bad about it, but it isn't as good as Pocky. There are other treats from this maker that look a little more interesting but didn't end up in the box. Plain sticks dipped into the chocolate until the very end of each one. Best for casual snacking! Rating: 2/5 I miss Men's Pocky. Maybe I'm more of a formal snacker? #2 Boom Bastic Full of coconut, so it's an overall no for me. However, the chocolate is good and the crispy pieces are a nice texture contrast. The coconut overpowers the caramel in the bar, and it tastes like a mounds bar that had caramel and crispy bits added. I liked the mouthfeel of the Nirvana candy better, but there was certainly n