For several years, I used the Day One app for daily journaling. It’s how I got the habit to stick. After a few years, habit established, I moved to paper journals instead. (It’s much more fun to see them stack up over time!)
I exported all of those old entries to some .txt and .json files before I deleted the app. A few days ago, I got the idea to upload those old journals to ChatGPT. And then I asked it to work up a psychological profile and tell me about the writer.
Some qualities it highlighted:
– Socially Active but Sometimes Withdrawn
– Reflective and Thoughtful
– Adventurous and Curious
– Analytical and Introspective
– Humorous and Witty
Some areas of struggle/challenge/growth:
– Consistent Communication
– Balancing Social and Personal Time
– Tendency Towards Self-Criticism
– Overthinking Social Interactions
– High Expectations and Perfectionism
– Occasional Negative Self-Perception
We went further in-depth, poking and prodding. All pretty spot-on, seems like an accurate read with good grasp of nuances, not too much hallucination. I’m curious what it would be like to digitize and upload all those bound journals I’ve written in the 6-7 years since, and ask the bots to compare/contrast the two writers…
Art
“Chandelier of Lost Earrings” by Lauren Sagar and Sharon Campbell. (via @womensart1)
I love the @StampsBot account, where I get small little injections of art in my day, like this flower on a Rwandan stamp or this goofy Japanese bird or this Tajikistani ruby ore. Makes me think of sculptures you see in a public park. It’s not often moved me or stirred my soul, but I like the little touch of delight – “that’s nice”. More nice things.
Running
I felt like I’d gotten into a rut lately, with many runs happening at the ~same speed. Cranked it up for a couple miles on Tuesday, a literal change of pace, felt great.
Not registered yet, but I’m eyeing 20-mile trail race the next month or so. I haven’t done that distance since… maybe a few years ago when I was living out west and running around the Santa Monica Mountains NRA. After a move back east and slow build-up after injury, it feels so, so good to be back where that distance seems pretty reasonable and attainable. I feel like I have so many ideas for routes and challenges and can’t wait to take them on.
School
I got a Linux certification, and now I’m in the depths of Java. I still find the syntax a bit tedious, but I think I’ve turned a bit of a corner. It doesn’t matter that much!
Music
I saw André 3000 at the Crown Hill Theater last Monday. Felt great to support another ATLien far from home. Not the most incredible concert experience I’ve ever had, but very glad I went. Yancey Strickler’s write-up of the concert captures it well.
“The Long Day Closes” perf. The Sixteen, by Chorley & Sullivan, was a stand-out this week.
Books
Lord of Chaos: finally finished. Turned a corner in this book about 2/3 in, after nine thousand pages of table-setting, the pace picked up. And a narrative change where more was hinted and hidden, motives clear but intentions ambiguous. It got fun again!
On to A Crown of Swords as of last night. It’ll be nice to move on to somewhat shorter books. The last three were ~20% longer than series average, and a nice tidy 800 sounds great right about now. Eight more books to go. Honestly couldn’t tell you what compelled me to do this re-read, or to continue with it, but it’s been fun.
Articles & Episodes & Twoots
David Cain on The Two Ways of Doing is my favorite thing I read all week.
Embracing the reward while resenting the price just isn’t a viable way to go about something for long. You’re always in inner conflict. You’re driving with the brakes on.
An illuminating history of standard Western music notation, and why alternatives haven’t taken off.
ASCII Theater lets you stream free text-based movies in your terminal app. Captions, too! (via)
“To use AI at work requires you to think about what your work means to others, and what it means to you. ”
Gothamist on the NYC wildlife beat: Photos of Flaco, free for a year. And we’ve got coyotes in the city, too!
Beware fairy tale brain.
“Something I don’t like about Letterboxd is how the social aspect encourages users to have “clever” responses to a movie, when sometimes the only appropriate reaction is leaving the theater and silently reading the Wikipedia entry in the bathroom line.”
And in that spirit, here are my minimally clever thoughts…
Movies
Fast X. I’ve only seen some of #8, and totally missed #9. I’m kinda tapped out on this franchise in its current era. This is easily the worst scripted and worst acted of all the ones I’ve seen. But! Silliness has its merits, and Momoa is the argument in favor. I liked his a kooky Bane-meets-Joker angel of vengeance. Statham is a breath of fresh air, too. Feels like the franchise is choking on its nostalgia. The body count/collateral damage is piling up and it’s making me sad.
TV
True Detective, s3e3. Interesting to see the wartime-veteran angle picking up.
The X-Files, s1e17 “E.B.E.“. Glad we returned to mainline UFO stuff after a few episodes away. I love when people think their place is bugged and they tear it apart!
Mark Larson 