Easy intro to ChatGPT

Hey everyone! I recently had the chance to chat with chatgpt, the AI assistant that everyone is talking about. I asked it to respond to some prompts in haiku form and it blew me away with its creative responses.

But chatgpt can do so much more than just write haikus - it can have natural conversations, answer questions, and even generate creative content like stories and poems. Here are the three haikus it came up with for me:

1. I love photography
   Snapshots of beauty
   Captured in the moment
   I love photography
   
   
2. Big cats
   Majestic creatures
   Graceful in their strength
   Big cats, wild and free
   
   
3. Cinnamon tic tacs
   Tiny mints of spice
   Zesty and refreshing
   Cinnamon tic tacs

If you want to see for yourself how awesome chatgpt is, check out this link to a copy of our conversation.

And if you haven't already tried chatgpt, you're missing out! It's easy to use and gets better the more you chat with it. Plus, it's like having a personal AI writing assistant at your fingertips. Give it a try and see what kind of amazing responses it can come up with for you. You won't be disappointed! 

Constraints in projects and pics

Working within constraints means you have to find a way to produce the best possible outcome, but that also means you have to make sacrifices in one or more areas. There's no such thing as a perfect project, but I didn't understand why until I picked up photography.

On projects we work within constraints, including time, budget, and scope. If you want to adjust one constraint, you impact another. Increasing scope may increase time to deliver or the needed budget. Decreasing budget might mean less time or the need to cut scope. Pushing for an earlier launch day may require the budget to add resources or again, a drastic cut in scope. In the end, it's unlikely you'll deliver a project in just the right amount of time, with everything the stakeholders want, within a budget they're happy to pay for. You need to make concessions in one of those areas, and arrive at a happy ending that balances all three for the best possible outcome.

Photography puts you in a similar position. You're working with focal length, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. These three constraints, like the project constraints, are codependent. If your photo is blurry due to motion, you want to increase shutter speed to freeze the subject. But now the lens is taking in less light, making your photos darker! Your aperture is wide open letting in the most possible light, so your only option is to raise the ISO to digitally amplify the light, but dang! Now the photo is full of grainy little dots we call "noise". You may need to drop that shutter speed back down a bit, or consider reducing the focal length to let in even more natural light, sacrificing some zoom. There's no such thing as a perfect photo, like tack sharp birds flying at sunset with zero noise and flawless exposure. Instead you're seeking balance between these constraints to produce the clearest image possible given your subject, equipment, and lighting conditions.

There's no way of knowing what the "best balance" may be. There may be multiple combinations that yield similar results, but in every case, you'll need to tweak your moveable constraints and make concessions in order to produce the best possible results.

The wisdom of procrastination

Critter wanted to

write a post but he's too slow

I win he loses

Cleaning fish is easy dude

The advice monster is everywhere. My last encounter had me thinking through an endless chain of examples where I've been both guilty as and victim to the advice monster. Check out this cool fish tale example I made up.

Dude : Hey bro, can you help me filet this? Hold on, I'll show you where I'm having trouble...

Bro: Ah dude, cleaning a fish is easy. You grab your filet knife...

Dude: Yeah but bro...

Bro: Then you start at the gills and slice down to the bone dude...

Dude: Right but bro...

Bro: Then you follow the bone all the way down to the tail dude...

Dude: But bro I can't...

Bro: Just wait dude, It'll all make sense.  So, then you...

Dude: But look at this thing bro! (holds up the fish) How am I supposed to get through the skin?!

Bro: Oh, that's a gar dude, you should have said so. Their scales are like kevlar. You can't even use that knife. Do you have a hacksaw?

My most recent experience with the advice monster went a bit like this. I desperately tried to explain that I couldn't even get past step one in the "solution". While my advisor took a moment to catch their breath I blurted out my obstacle. This got them asking some more helpful questions.

It's hard consulting anyone without meeting their advice monster. It's hard even if the person is actively experimenting with you and deliberately following a more Socratic method style set of rules. If you're speaking to an advice monster, it might help to ask for a pause, and explain that you want to clarify the problem more. Say something like "you just made me think to ask myself..." and "you're helping me paint a clearer picture in my head". Treat them like a coach, and don't ask for advice to solve the problem. Ask them to help you understand the problem you're working on.

Whiner keeps on whining

    Look at the whiner whining. They don't like whining, oh no they don't. But they moan and they groan, they want to stop but they won't! It's the injustice they tell you, the ridiculous things! "I hate to complain but come on!" Oh the sorrow it brings. But don't fret for our poor friend, nor friends of theirs. For each tear fuels a spark, a flash of light in the dark. On and on, the whiner keeps on whining, even whining about the whining, a little whine lantern shining.

Got a job? Keep looking

    Job hunting sucks! It sucks a lot less when you have a job though. 

But isn't that disloyal? 

    No, it's a way to keep pushing yourself and reaffirming your career decisions. Whether you love your job or you're looking for a way out, make sure your resume is up to date. Submit some applications to interesting jobs and take some interviews occasionally if you can. You're already employed, so no pressure. You'll have opportunities to test your knowledge, learn what gaps you'll need to bridge in your career growth, and improve your sense of self worth. 

But what if I get an offer? I like my job and I can't imagine leaving. 

    That's great! Knowing there's an opportunity to leave for a competitive offer means you've got options, and you're not trapped. It means you're doing what you're doing because you want to, not because you have to. That's a powerful thing to have in the back of your mind on a bad day. Loyalty isn't refusing to consider your options, it's the confidence you gain by choosing. 

Ammonia in the system

    In an aquaponic system, ammonia, ammonium, and nitrite are all chemicals produced by the fish. In excess, these chemicals are highly toxic. By cultivating bacteria to metabolize these chemicals, we're able to generate a plant-life supporting nutrient that is also far less toxic to fish in moderate concentrations; nitrate. This process requires the cycling of water through a cohesive system made up of smaller isolated units for fish, plants, and bacteria. Circulation and continuous metabolic processes result in a harmonious exchange, fueling key functions and keeping toxicity at manageable levels for the entire system. The farmer must work to initiate and maintain these functional processes.