Michael's pondering thoughts

In a game where health and strategy collide, every move counts, and the stakes are personal. Well, I have been officially out of Camzyos for over a week. I finally got it after calling the insurance every day for a week and being told something different. It started out that the ECHO hadn't been uploaded to their portal. Message to doctor on MyChart. Sent it to the wrong cardiologist. I have 3: a cardiologist, a HOCM specialist, and an electrophysiologist. So forgive me for picking the wrong one. The message still got to where it needed to go. Didn't matter anyways, as the insurance then found another thing they didn't like on Wednesday. They didn't like the dosage the doctor ordered because they didn't think it needed to be increased because of the ECHO. So they had to reach out to the doctor. Again, another message in MyChart, same thread that I was told I messaged the wrong office. Again, got to where it needed to go. At least they are all looking at the same...

Watched: The Hunters 🍿 ⭐⭐ Old movie first time I have seen it. Didn’t hold up to time.

I’ve made more progress on my blog poster program. I’m doing a few minor changes and adding new features before moving on to another service/platform. The images haven’t changed since my last post, so there are no new ones this time. I added a Kudos button to my Write.as custom domain, michaelmitchell.blog. It’s powered by Tinylytics. I’ll probably be adding more features soon and doing some digital gardening along the way. I also updated my Personal Events social media poster project. Streamline your social media management with a versatile platform that allows simultaneous posting across multiple networks. I hope to finish all the refinements and additions by the end of February. I’m taking it slow and thoroughly testing each connection to make sure every post, no matter the content, looks consistent across all platforms. Someday, I know I’ll settle on just one platform. But for now, I’m enjoying the process.

This was an excellent action thriller. Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne did a great job and are terrific actors. It is a tense espionage story where the lead relies on his intellect to stay a step ahead

A conductor leads a robotic orchestra aboard a starship, with the USS Enterprise framed through the observation deck windows. Computer: Personal log, Stardate: Current. I want AI that resembles two distinct concepts, not the general artificial intelligence (AGI) that others are trying to create. I envision AI to be like the Star Trek computer and helpful robots like Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet or Sonny from I, Robot , without any violent programming. I also want a robot companion like the one from Red Planet . I do not want androids, cyborgs, or anything in between. I have listened to Ed Zitron and read a post from Greg Morris, who think AI systems are merely slop machines and a fad "word salad" generator. 1 I am having to proactively ask others not to send me AI slop to make my life easier. If I am having to rewrite the shallow nonsense that every LLM produces anyway, I might as well just do it myself from scratch. However, I believe AI is us...

This was funny but sad at the same time. I would call it a sci-fi comedy that tries to be a serious action movie. The main character has such a bad day that it becomes funny. If you want a mind-numbing movie to pass the time, this is it. The ending was just okay.

Watched on Saturday September 27, 2025.

I went to the doctors on Friday, hopefully for the last of the required three ECHOs I need while on my medication called Camzyos (you may have seen the commercials on TV for it). I have been on 5mg since June for my Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and I am oversimplifying here, but the results have been mixed. On the positive side, it has helped significantly. My numbers have definitely improved, not only on my LVOT obstruction (how much oxygenated blood gets out of my heart) but also on my ejection fraction. My shortness of breath during exertion or regular activities is completely gone. However, there are concerning side effects. My fatigue is still there, if not a little worse, and my heart rate is consistently fast with tachycardia episodes. Your heart should slow down during sleep, but mine stays at 75-90 beats per minute or higher all night long, and I can feel it constantly. This is not AFib (an irregular fast heartbeat) but rather a fast, rhythmic beat. The doctor reviewed my ...

Late-night coding with multiple blogs open, in a Hopper-inspired scene of focus and isolation. I posted a vague toot recently saying I was working on "something wonderful." Time to explain what that actually means. I got tired of manually posting the same content to multiple blogs, so I'm building a Python program that does it for me. The problem is simple: I have several blogs across different platforms, both free and paid. Each one has its own quirky web editor, and none of them talk to each other well. Micro.blog hosts my main site, but I want to publish everywhere at once without copying and pasting or relying on unreliable RSS feeds. I already built a Python program for cross-posting to social media that works well enough. Now I'm building something similar for blogs, running on my Raspberry Pi. Eventually I'll connect both programs into a proper POSSE setup (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere). Since I'm not a software devel...

From Disney+/Hulu: 🎬 Alien: Earth – Season 1, Episodes 1-7 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ May contain spoilers The show and its cast are excellent. Although it began somewhat slowly with necessary background information, it proved worthwhile. I eagerly anticipate the next episode and season. 🎬 DVD: 🎬 Grantchester – Season 10, Episodes 1-8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ May contain spoilers I consistently enjoy this series. The British excel at producing TV series and entertainment, often surpassing American productions, which tend to be more inconsistent. This series improves with each season and never seems to run out of creative ideas. While I will be disappointed when Season 11 concludes the series, I acknowledge that all shows must eventually end. 🎬

🚨 AI voice cloning + robocall scams are rising—don’t fall for fake loan calls! For nearly a month now, I've been getting a phone call almost every day from numbers all over the U.S., numbers I don't recognize at all. I've only answered twice: the first time it was a female voice, and the second time a male voice. Both were obviously AI-generated, pitching some kind of personal loan. If I don't answer, they leave a voicemail instead. I started blocking some of the numbers, but stopped once I realized they're clearly spoofed and completely random. Here's the most recent voicemail recording: Your browser doesn't support the audio element. Download MP3 | Read Transcript The good news is that the FCC has unanimously approved a Declaratory Ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices are “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) FCC Makes AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls Illegal | Federal Communications Commission ...

From pay toilets to high-tech pods—two eras of public convenience. This has been on my mind lately. I was listening to the Planet Money Podcast and caught an episode about why it’s so hard to find a public toilet . It made me think of London. I’ve never been, but I watch a YouTube channel called London City Walks , which often films around Horse Guards Parade . The host strolls through the area, narrates what he sees, and points out that this busy tourist spot barely has any public toilets, except a few in the Underground. I never gave it much thought here in the US, except when I go out. I usually try not to use public restrooms because they’re often dirty. Even at Disney, where attendants work almost full time, the bathrooms still get overcrowded, though you can sometimes find a quieter one that stays clean and stocked. Going to shopping malls, restaurants, or in rare cases gas stations, I hate using the bathrooms. They’re usually in rough shape. That’s what came to mind while ...

🎬 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 3, Episodes 5-10 (Season Finale) ⭐⭐⭐ May contain spoilers! This season was a mixed bag. I believe this series has great potential, but I question the structure and plot of some episodes this season. For instance, the season finale should have been a two-parter, episodes 8 and 9, with episode 10 serving as a proper season close-out. Alternatively, if they wanted to maintain its current position, they could have extended the season to 12 episodes, making this story arc a two-parter, episodes 10 and 11, then having a proper close-out as episode 12 as a look back over the season and what to look forward to. I struggle to understand this new streaming series format of producing only 8 or 10 episodes for the entire year, a point I have raised and complained about in past posts. TV series, when they were broadcast over the air or on cable, typically produced 20 to 24 episodes that aired from September through May, followed by summer reruns. The new ...

The assassination of Charlie Kirk today is a tragic reminder that political violence is never the solution. It only creates deeper divides and encourages an “us versus them” mentality that is actively harming our society. The proper place to resolve political differences is at the ballot box and through civil debate. This destructive rhetoric and division is not new. It has been encouraged for years and has been festering over time. The current environment reinforces a dangerous dynamic that threatens our democratic institutions. I have said this before, and I will say it again: politics is just one aspect of life, but its current state is consuming our nation. Politicians on both sides have not helped by trying to one-up the other party in order to stay in power, and it is a disservice to the public they serve. Government employees take an oath to uphold, defend, and protect the Constitution of the United States. Part of that oath means doing what is right for the principles of our ...

I am working on something wonderful in Python 🐍. It’s a slow process, but I’m making progress 🚀. At this rate, it won’t be ready until the end of the year 📅. I don’t want to reveal it until it’s finished and working 🔒.

Joined World of Warships on July 2, 2015 I’ve been playing World of Warships , a free-to-play naval combat game focused mainly on ships from World War II with some from earlier and later eras. It’s my most-played game, and I’ve been with it since the very beginning. I first started on July 2, 2015, the first day of the open beta, just before the official launch that September. For me, the game is a way to relax. I usually stick to co-op battles against bots, since random battles with other players often get too competitive and sometimes rude. I don’t play for competition. I play to unwind and enjoy myself. I’d like to thank Wargaming.net and wish them many more years of success. They publish other games too, but World of Warships is the one I’ve enjoyed most. Happy Anniversary to World of Warships and Wargaming.net, and thanks for the free premium ships I’ve received so far during this big anniversary celebration.

Choosing a feature image — a quiet desk, a laptop, and blank cards waiting to be filled. I have been debating lately whether feature images are a good idea. I think they are, because I am a very visual person. Even though I often read materials without pictures, an image grabs my attention and interest first. I first discovered feature images when I started learning WordPress. The feature image option was one of the only parts of WordPress I liked, even though I struggled with the block editor. The challenge was always finding the right image. Now, with AI, I can usually get about 95 percent of the way there. I have received some pushback about using AI images in my posts (usually only the feature image is AI). I really do not care much about the criticism, but some of the feedback has been trollish, and that is not acceptable. I use AI images the same way I would use WordPress premade content or any other service’s ready-made material. I am not taking away a person’s c...

Quiet golden-hour read with tea and tech in tow. My week has been hectic with work and being off Camzyos for over a week now.“Why are you off your Camzyos? I thought it was helping.”Yes, it has helped. I have felt better. I am not energized and still fatigued, but I have been able to do things without feeling like I was going to pass out from exertion. The specialty pharmacy would not fill the prescription without every box checked. My doctor’s office also failed to upload my latest ECHO. The pharmacy never contacted me, simply put the prescription on hold, and left me in the dark. I had to reach out myself to find out what was happening. On Friday the medicine finally shipped. Will I get it today? Who knows. I was told Thursday, then Friday. I am also cutting back on my use of hashtags in social media posts. Lately I have gotten trolls and some nasty responses. I do not mind opposite or contrary views, but the tone was uncalled for. Hashtags used to be a good way to find peop...

I live in Hillsborough County, Florida. Within the last few months, our Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) and at least one other local agency have been using what they call cruise mode with their emergency lights. This is creating a lot of confusion for motorists, myself included. In this mode, the emergency lights are steady and static while the deputy drives normally. The problem is you cannot tell if they want you to move over, pull over, or simply let them pass with priority. Traditionally, emergency lights flash, sometimes with sirens, which signals drivers how to respond. The issue is especially acute when a patrol car is directly behind you or approaching an intersection in front of you. I’ve been in both of these situations, and each time I was unsure how to react. Apparently, HCSO received enough questions, complaints, and inquiries that local news media began covering the issue. At least one couple was involved in a serious accident linked to confusion over...