I am a retired Web Developer, Blackboard & Canvas Administrator at Fayetteville State University, which is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina.
In the late 1960s a growing number of people began to oppose the War in Vietnam. And just like the current skirmish, they argued over whether to call it a “war” or a “conflict.” Hell, when people on both sides are dying, who gives a rat’s ass what you call it? Dead is dead!
People hurled insults from both sides, and the catchy phrase which always comes up, “Well if you don’t love America, leave it,” was repeated. There was the Draft, and some people thought about it, and some actually left our country (Canada was an easy out.) rather than be drafted, and go fight in Vietnam. The Kent State shooting occurred in 1970 when some college students were protesting the war’s overflow into Cambodia. National Guard troops that had been called in, shot and killed 4 students and wounded 9 others. *I think that was the turning point for the United States to get out of Vietnam. It didn’t matter which side you were on. Killing our own, on our own soil, by our own military who were originally created to protect us, was sort of like ICE Agents killing U.S. citizens. It’s something that Americans just don’t want.
I don’t get the impression that this war will go on for 20 years, or that 50,000+ of our military will die in this conflict before someone gets some sense. *Old men usually get us into wars, and young men usually die because of it. And, rarely does anything good come from one of these smaller wars. WWII was the exception, but was a fight that brought the whole world into the struggle.
What should not be forgotten, but has been by some is that it doesn’t matter if you are Republican, Democrat or Independent, we are all Americans. Just because we don’t agree on how things should be done, or what we want the eventual outcome to be, only wanting things “our way,” is not right. I may not agree with you, but quite often compromise is necessary for the whole to survive and continue on. Do you get the idea that this hasn’t been the case for quite some time in America? Why do you think we have a Government Shutdown? Would it not be better for both sides to give something they really don’t want to give, in order that the Government continues to function? — Look to the Bible, for the story about Solomon (the wisest king) and the two women that each had babies. During the night, one of the babies died, and the mother of that child, switched children with the other mother. In the morning the other mother realizes that her baby has died, but then also realizes that that was not her child. They can’t agree and both are brought to King Solomon with the living child. In his wisdom he said, “Bring me a sword, and I’ll cut the child in two and give one half to each mother. That will be fair.” But the real mother of the child said, “No, give the child to her.” The real mother would rather have her child live and be with the other person, rather than be dead. — All that to say, America needs to survive, and cutting her in half isn’t what a loving person wants to do, or should do.
Well, this character started when I was attracted to a ribald cartoon online. It was a simple, black & white, pen & ink drawing of two women standing on a sidewalk, and a “little” man (much shorter than either of them) walking away from them. One woman, who is scantily clad is saying something to her friend (who I show here) about her money being missing. Apparently she had an intimate location for stowing her cash, and the supposed joke is that the man of small stature had “a hand up” on being able to snatch the cash without her knowing it.
Now, I wasn’t impressed by the drawing. I have seen something similar in old issues of Playboy from many years ago. And I think that was the first, maybe only time I’ve heard the words, Ribald Humor. Ribald meaning risqué humor, a joke having something to do with a sexual connotation.
I came upon this cartoon by “chance” if there is such a thing. All I was looking for was a black & white, pen & ink drawing that I could process through AI and have the AI “make the drawing 3D.” And it really didn’t matter the content, I just needed a drawing.
An American Eagle and the Maltese Falcon
Recently I’ve found doing this can be a great deal of fun. The end result is usually of such depth from the original that it’s like finding a golden Eagle beneath a statue painted with black paint. This, a reference to “the Maltese Falcon,” who instead of an eagle, was indeed supposed to be a statue of a golden falcon that had been passed down through the ages, suffering intrigue, murder and thievery. But now Sam Spade, legendary fictional detective, is holding the bird statue in his hand and realizing its hidden worth. *I also had AI generate a Spade moment, but with a Golden Eagle. I love what the AI did. Classic, smoky, film noir.
Oh, and why the golden eagle? I was watching a YouTube video of President Trump speaking somewhere, and in front of the podium was an odd golden eagle statue. I say odd, because it was reminiscent of some of the eagles from the 1940s. See below.
Gold Eagle Statue at Presidential podium“Hmmm… remove the black paint and all you’ve got is a golden eagle.Sam and the Golden EagleSam with the FalconSam and the Golden Falcon
The AI said there was a difference if I asked for a golden eagle or a golden falcon, but I don’t see much, and I don’t know why it rendered him from the back the first time and now a good likeness of Bogart from the front?
AI paramenters that prevent baudy acts & Lady Liberty
So I have the cartoon and start to have “my AI of choice,” ChatGPT, process the image into a 3D rendering. But, it stops me, as it often has. Deep at the core of this AI are rules of “political correctness” which shut down any attempt to deal with suspicious material. You’re not going to be able to take the clothes off of the Statue of Liberty, you pervert. *I will say, I have had fun when the AI allowed me to modernize Lady Liberty into a green tinted modern woman, and I have run in several directions with her.
The modern Lady Liberty has something to say about Immigration and in a modern way, she has even had her welcoming statement tattooed on her arm. She will even hold her torch near so that you can see how she feels. And, I’m not really sure she cares that they are illegal or legal. And because her duties of welcoming the “poor and huddled masses” has been severely reduced in our current Administration, and because of the recent economic upheavals, she has found the need for a second job. She performs ground control at Joint Base Andrews, and quite often directs Air Force One to it’s proper position on the tarmac. And yes, she has been given permission to use her torch in both of her jobs.
I’m not sure that I like that she smokes, but any gal that carries a torch around has to find other things to do with it, other than just welcoming the weary to our country. I love the idea of her taking a selfie with her posing with her lamp and the pedestal on which she normally stands in the background. Always self aware. What a modern gal.
So, the AI stopped me from making the pen & ink drawing into a 3D image because of the sexual implicatons.
Instead of looking for a different drawing to make into a 3D image, I decided to put the original drawing into Pixlr and remove the suggestive elements, from which I ended up with “the surprised friend.” In the first “cartooned” image, the AI has put a yellow coat, with a large hand warmer in front, and a purlple hat and purple dress with white polka dots and the woman had a surprised look on her face and is holding her hand up to her face. Originally she was looking down at her friend who had just been “pickpocketed.”
First you see the coloring & cartooning effect from the original pen & ink, black & white drawing. The character springs to life, with a yellow coat and purple polka dot dress. Next I “make her 3D” and her body rounds out. I then have the AI have her walking toward a park bench (all from my imagination) and it shows us her back side, which to me makes her behind look enormous. *If the woman asked, “does this dress make my behind look big,” I would have to respond, “No, the AI made your behind look big. I didn’t pay attention that her surprised look had followed her to the park bench. And then on to pushing a pram. Only until I put her in a phone booth and added a small dog did I have the AI get rid of her surprised look.
We then go for a walk and she stops to coo coo the baby and the dog turns and looks up to see what is going on. Now I’ve already determined that the baby in the pram is not this woman’s child and that makes her a nanny that has taken the child and dog out for a walk during the day. The phone booth is both significant and worrisome in that it locks this event in a time before the cell or smartphone as come into modern use. But then I follow the woman home, and put her in an easy chair and give her something healthy to eat (apple slices with peanut butter). Originally I had her eating a small plate of cookies.
She is sitting in her easy chair with her feet propped up on an ottoman, her plate in her hand and looking as if she might be watching TV. But, I could have just as easily given her a TV remote. But I didn’t give her a remote because I was still imagining her as living in perhaps the 1950s. The telephone booth would have made her living in England, but the original pen & ink drawing seemed more like New York or Chicago, although there were no distinguishing buildings in the image. Just a simple cityscape.
But now the woman takes on my personality which I did not originally have that intent. I have her check her blood sugar with a pin prick to her finger. Something you do regularly if you are a type 2 diabetic. I also have her weigh herself, which I do every morning. And here I have the AI change from a digital scale to an analog device, trying to remain true to the original 50s vibe. I have the AI put her in a “red dress with Jetson’s like symbols on it,” and the AI did superbly. But because it made the dress short no sleeved, I had to imagine that the time was nearing spring. She had been wearing a heavy coat, but now she is preparing for warmer weather.
And her is where I take her into the kitchen (my feminine side, although I don’t think of cooking as a solely feminine task). And I first have her do a stir-fry in an electric wok. Now an “electric” wok would first become popular in the 1960s so I’ve jumped her into the future by about 10 years. But, I’m comfortable with the ease at which she is cooking in the wok. I know this task from repeated personal experience.
I now have the AI put her using an Instant Pot Mini and pressing the steam release. The original drawing has the steam only mildly floating up toward the ceiling, but from personal experience I know the steam shoots out in a small powerfully directed gush toward the ceiling. So I had the AI change this and it did perfectly, even commenting on how this is what the actual steam release normally looks like. I told the AI that that was why I had suggested the change. And this was the perfect time for her surprised expression to return to her face. *I’ve talked with several women that are afraid of using this modern pressure cooker, and some have good reasons from having had bad experiences in the past. I’ve embraced my IPM and have had no problems, yet. Only positive ones. **I still know from personal experience that when you press that steam release button, and the steam hisses out in a powerful stream, it still surprises me each time.
And now I change to another thing of which I recently became familiar. The Stelo CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) which I used for a little over a month at the start of the year. My experience was almost totally positive, no pain or discomfort, a lot of useful information and insights and only one sensor that died at half-life and was quickly replaced by Dexcom the manufacturer. The 106 showing on the app is not a perfect number, but is a very reasonable number for a type 2 diabetic, depending upon when the test is actually being applied.
I swapped out the cookies for apple slices & peanut butter.Got to check my glucose level.Yep, the weight has been going down.And spring is just around the corner.A quick stir fry in her electric wok.Unafraid of her Instant Pot Mini but still surprised by the Quick Release.Checking out the Stelo sensor and app.Our eyes finally meet, and I swoon.Visiting the White House and admiring President Kennedy.I love those pointy collar elements.And now imagine her as real!
And It Doesn’t Stop!
I wanted the AI to create an image of her in her garden being surprised by finding a beautiful flower and it gave me two options. What you’ve got to recall is that originally my description of the red dress was to have Jetson-like objects on the dress, and I really liked that, but this alternate image takes the dress in a more Jetsonian ilk. I love those pointy collar elements!
And then yesterday while I was in the Mall, I thought to take a few pictures, and one was of a couple of mannequins in a store window. I first cartooned, them and then made them 3D. They had no faces originally. Well, no faces with facial features. But once I had them, I could change their poses. I had them hold hands and kick legs, and then I thought to add Nanny’s face to one, and once again, I’m in love. Love the surprised look on her as if she is surprised by suddenly being a mannequin.
I came upon the following by accident. I was driving about town and saw some buildings that had large murals painted on their outside walls. I took a photo of these images and then told my AI of Choice, CHATGPT, to “make this image 3D.” In about 30 seconds the AI spit out images that had additional depth. *Not all AI programs create 3D images the same, and even the same AI will sometimes produce a totally different look. Even moving a short distance to take a picture of a mural will change the image that is produced. Let’s look at some examples:
The above example starts with a simple line drawing that appears on the wax wrapper for egg rolls from a Chinese Restaurant. I took a photo and uploaded it to my AI asking it to “make this 3D.” The red and white version was a surprise and gave depth to the original image, but then I asked the AI to “make the image more real” and it produced the beautiful multicolored version. I asked and it’s not a single “goddess” but a compilation.
I love the way the AI increases the depth of these murals. Here are two examples of images I found at the grocery store. In one I asked the AI to copy the image of the Geisha from the drink carton. Impressive.
The two images above were very surprising. I was walking down an aisle in ALDI’s and happened to see the package so I took a picture and asked the AI to make it 3D. I may have stopped in my tracks as I looked at the real looking image. I asked and this is a compilation of a classic Turkish Tea Set, not a photo of any one real set. Note how true to the image on the box the generated file is.
And once you take everything to 3D then it’s time to bring it all back to cartoons.
You can store celery completely submerged in water in a Mason jar just like carrots or radishes, but above is another way.
Get a celery bunch
Cut the tops & bottoms off
Wrap the celery stalks in a wet paper towel
Wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil
Here are the vegetables that really respond well to the “mason jar + water in the fridge” method. Some improve dramatically, some just maintain beautifully.
🥕 1. Carrots (You already know)
Huge improvement if slightly limp.
Can last 3–4+ weeks.
Change water every 3–5 days.
🔴 2. Radishes
Stay crisp and less bitter.
2–4 weeks.
Change water every 2–4 days.
🌿 3. Celery ⭐ Big dramatic improvement
This one might be the champion.
Limp celery becomes crisp again in 12–24 hours.
Cut into sticks and fully submerge.
Can last 2–3 weeks.
Change water every 3–4 days.
Celery loses moisture fast — this method reverses that.
🥒 4. Green Onions (Scallions)
Stand them upright in a jar with water covering the white roots.
No lid needed (or loosely cover).
Change water every 2–3 days.
They often keep growing a bit.
🥬 5. Asparagus
Treat like flowers.
Stand upright with 1–2 inches of water at the bottom.
Loosely cover tops with a produce bag.
Change water every 2 days.
Keeps 1–2 weeks.
🌱 6. Fresh Herbs (Cilantro, Parsley)
Same as asparagus method.
Trim stems slightly.
Stand upright in shallow water.
Cover loosely.
Change water every 2 days.
Can last 2–3 weeks instead of a few sad days.
Cilantro especially benefits.
🥦 7. Broccoli Stems (Not the florets)
If you peel and cut the stems, submerging keeps them crisp.
Florets don’t do as well long term.
Vegetables That Do NOT Like This Method
Mushrooms
Leaf lettuce (better wrapped in paper towel)
Cauliflower florets
Zucchini
NOTE [02/26/26]: I just changed out the water in the radishes & carrots. Ate one of the radishes and still crisp. Cut up a carrot for tonight’s stir fry. Seemed crisp and okay. This neat little trick seems to work. Wish I had known it a long time ago. *But it’s the avocados that I would like to find a real trick for. [end NOTE]
After I had breakfast today, I got dressed and headed to Pate’s Farm Market (clear across town) with the purpose of buying some chicken tenders but they had none. I did buy a bunch of asparagus and several Hunnyz apples. I then drove over to Food Lion (near Target and Best Buy) and bought a package of chicken tenders there. I also bought a clam shell package of salted pumpkin seeds. Recall that I have a Wasabi-Soy Powder that I put on these seeds. I get that from Amazon.com.
I bought some good looking Asparagus.The chicken is behind me, but they had no chicken tenders.Some KETO flour tortillas in Food Lion.An interesting cart @ Food Lion.
Yesterday on Friday, February 20, 2026 I went to the Friends of Cumberland County Book Sale. They have a book sale quarterly and they usually have a good selection of books and at very cheap prices. I bought several cookbooks in their “cheap” section (I think it came to about $1.50 total, but I gave them a $20 and said, “Keep it as a donation.” I then went back again today (Saturday) and went into the main room and bought about 8 more cookbooks for about $10.25.
From the parking lot, go right and down the steps.The entrance to the Book Sale is behind the library and in the basement.Normally the crowd waiting outside is more linear.As I was leaving the Book Sale I noticed a darkening sky.I had my red PATE’s shopping bag filled with books.I returned on Saturday for a few more cookbooks.Actual photo of those waiting outside for the Book Sale door to open.
Recall that one of the things I do with these books is put some of them in the Little Lending Libraries I visit both in town and other towns, cities and even other states (Bennettsville, S.C.). This is no where near all the LLL that I have visited in the last couple of years.
