George Boyce
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george.themc.network
George Boyce
@george.themc.network
I am a retired IT tech geek. I am now building TheMC.Network, a nonprofit project to promote educational projects, focusing on creating & supporting Maker Communities. Loving life in Vermont.

https://george.themc.network
https://george.ourvermontlife.org
So now everyone knows my #novel premise...

If we make alien contact, will it be with some biological form or with a machine version of them, either as a robotic emissary or as an actual uploaded consciousness so that their physical form doesn't have to survive the hostile journey of space travel?
Neil & Anil Seth Discuss Consciousness in the Universe
YouTube video by StarTalk
youtu.be
January 25, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Have I mentioned how hard it is to write your first #novel? Especially if you want it, the ordinary world at least, to be accurate?

And how dumb you must have felt when trying to find the right movie for the kids to watch on movie night in 1990, not remembering that DVDs had not yet been invented.
January 12, 2025 at 8:51 PM
I'm joining my wife @eva.ourvermontlife.org on this one.

Bye-Bye FB.

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is terminating major DEI programs, effective immediately ... a strong signal to Meta employees that the company's push ... isn't just posturing, but an ethos shift that will impact its business practices.
January 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Why is quick-release hyphenated but quick attach is not? And what does that tell us about society? About love and relationships? Just asking. No worries here.
January 6, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Generative AI is experimental.

Right, and you think my brain is any different? Still, you're a kid and I'm an old man. Stop with the stupid mistakes, especially in logic. If you can't beat me in logic, what is your true value? You just want to overwhelm me with words? Start my day with a rant? Ha!
January 6, 2025 at 11:02 AM
I read Google has claimed a leadership position in AI. Someone tell the browser team...

The American spelling of the word is "minimart":

Here is an example of "minimart" in a sentence:

"Amanda had started working again, running a mini-mart across from a hotel in the center of town".
January 1, 2025 at 11:06 PM
I wonder if our beaver 🦫 is happy for warm temps and fresh water, or annoyed that his hibernation was interrupted.
December 31, 2024 at 2:06 PM
I need to remember this as a subplot in my next #novel.
Sled Dogs Emerged From The Ice Age

Modern sled dogs are descended from Pleistocene Siberian wolves & carry special genetic adaptations for living amongst humans in the Arctic

by @grrlscientist.bsky.social via Substack

#dogs🐾 #Arctic #winter❄️ #SciComm🧪 grrlscientist.substack.com/p/sled-dogs-...
December 31, 2024 at 2:00 PM
We paid $$$$ to have our basement waterproofed: foundation drainage, sump pump, and dehumidifier.

Reaction 1 of seeing a pool of water was, it's under warranty.

Reaction 2, dang that's from the ceiling meaning outside snow removal.

Reaction 3, that's the humidifier. Not good but the cheapest fix.
December 28, 2024 at 5:47 PM
I love our morning walks, especially when I lose myself in #novel brainstorming. That's easy when Sam is a character and a neighbor's farm is a scene location.

Today, I discovered the link from a scene in Act 1 to a new #subplot. A different neighbor's tale of visiting that location made it pop.
December 28, 2024 at 2:45 PM
I finished my final, final I say, draft of Act 1 of my first #novel. This shall be the setting for my opening scene of Act 2. Well, kinda. It will seem more like early Medieval Europe to my protagonist. At least that is my current idea before writing a word on this side of the portal.
December 27, 2024 at 4:05 PM
One more collection of animal trails. I wish I had the words to describe how beautiful and quiet this part of the world is. Happy holidays!
December 26, 2024 at 9:33 PM
I did not expect to wake up and start brainstorming the alert my 11-year-old would have on her custom chat app. At 5 am my wife and I are making "pew pew" sounds and exploring variations.

I'm going with "pew pew... pew-ting!" and have the kid mumble about needing a better alert.

#novel #research
December 25, 2024 at 10:55 AM
The AI models I'm experimenting with use lots of colorful dialogue tags that editing tools insist be fixed. I get that, that's what all pros say to do.

But my kids have phones, tablets, and laptops. The editing tools are fine with fingers that tap/twitch/drum, dance/fly across keys. No one types.
December 24, 2024 at 5:42 PM
Pro tip... There is a wrong way for every DIY repair. Some hurt more than others.
December 23, 2024 at 7:49 PM
It is so cold outside...

How cold is it?

My spiders weave their webs with ice!
December 23, 2024 at 12:14 PM
Note to self: don't name your dog "Sam I Am" and expect to use it in a #novel. Not without a lot of complaints about grammar. Put in the damn hyphens and take them out in the final edit.
December 23, 2024 at 12:10 AM
My favorite week of the year? Certainly in the top ten!
December 22, 2024 at 3:22 PM
Forget about: are you smarter than a fifth grader? (Not in my story!) The real question a #novel #writer needs answered is: do I sound like a fifth grader?
December 22, 2024 at 10:39 AM
I have to get over my predilection for not asking #stupid questions. ChatGPT will never, until the day #AI takes over, ever make me feel like I asked a stupid #question. So don't waste time trying to fine tune the question. Just chat. And see where it takes you.
December 22, 2024 at 12:42 AM
I was today years old when I learned you can't have your first-person POV character leave a scene and expect the scene narration to continue. I knew something was wrong in the outline. First #facepalm in three weeks. I guess that's not too bad.
December 21, 2024 at 6:45 PM
Yesterday it was the weasel, today we're checking on our fox! Our property drops down to a marsh, then back up a tall hill.

Our fox crossed our yard and slope four times before returning to his den across the road.
December 20, 2024 at 6:36 PM
I can't be the only one both obsessed with every Grammarly correction to my writing and driven to ignore every suggestion that destroys my 5th-grade dialogue voice.

I must bravely ignore its opinion until I'm done and ready to edit. I should just turn it off.

But. I. Can't. Must #focus on #novel
December 20, 2024 at 3:41 PM
I haven't touched #Windows in four years. It helps that I only play #Minecraft, but I have my first #linux #game dev project in progress. It ties into my #story plot, or perhaps the other way around.
December 20, 2024 at 3:00 PM
I'm busy learning a new language. I have to translate all of my 60's phrases in something that would come out of a Gen Alpha mouth. #story dialogue is hard in a foreign language.
December 19, 2024 at 9:08 PM