calvisson-leblon

 Artificial Intelligence has been hyped as the ultimate tool for achieving Nirvana: IA improves our daily life by making it smoother, smarter and more enjoyable.   From my own limited experience, I beg to disagree.  AI is making a large number of people lazy, dependent, trusting and dumb.  I am just a humble voice outside the chorus of distinguished experts who find that AI is addictive and undermines one’s critical thinking. Moreover, I am uncomfortable with the adjective “artificial”, does not it mean insincere or affected? Paradoxically, Donald Trump wants to replace it, probably to conceal its most malicious impacts.  In an AI world, we will have to stay vigilant to enjoy its benefits. I frequently use AI for tips, enquiries, references and blog writing.   Google Gemini often goes off the rails and provides wrong information, a double check is vital.     Microsoft 365 Copilot is a useful grammar checker but an unimaginative writing too...

Medieval castles always fascinated me, and one Welsh Castle in particular.   A year ago, an intriguing and scenic picture of the ruined medieval Castle of Carew captivated my imagination.   While browsing the Internet, I found pictures of several Welsh castles, each with a distinct eerie appearance.    Impressed and curious, I convinced my English friend B to organize a visit to Wales.     She is an experienced tour organizer; under her guidance I had already explored Scotland, Ireland and several regions of England.                                                                    Carew Castle Friends were puzzled by this travel choice, viewing Wales as a backwater compared to England.   Did not Wales rank last in the 2025 Six Nations rugby competition?   This poor opinion ove...

  Kärcher is a household name in Europe and a handyman’s best friend.   A few years ago, I bought a Kärcher high-pressure water cleaner to make my Calvisson handyman’s work faster.   Kärcher claims to be user-friendly and water efficient.   However, this year, my handyman was unavailable due to a minor domestic accident, and unable to find a replacement, I had to handle the cleaning myself.   I now believe that cleaning and weed removal are no   longer tasks for the local handymen.   The water cleaner’s operating manual is written in 28 European languages but lacks helpful pictures.   After watching two YouTube tutorials, I became Karcher proficient at 82, bingo! The equipment is a bit heavy to drag around but I discovered that the high-pressure gun is more fun to operate than a vacuum cleaner.   Wearing my rubber boots, I thoroughly cleaned porch, patio and terrace; all are now spick and span.     If “Kärchering” can be done by a...

  In this fateful morning, they didn’t find Easter Eggs in the family garden but the lifeless body of Sam.   Sam had broken limbs; the events of that day will remain unknown.  Sam was the cherished cat belonging to the G family.   I am a friend of this family and Sam’s passing makes me very sad.                                                                                                 SAM Sam was always the first family member to greet me at the G home.   Upon my arrival, I would drop my bag on the kitchen table, he would jump on the table, with difficulties as he was very corpulent, and at a cuddle distance he would request strokes and rubs.   This was our routine.   I suspect that snuggle-loving Sam was the ...

  Since moving to Brazil in 2003, I've had mixed feelings, it has become a love-hate relationship . I love the country most of the time, except for three months a year, from March to May, when I must file my taxes.  Lion is the nickname of the Brazilian internal revenue service, the tax man in other words, and t he lion's greed has massively grown over time.  Globally, paying taxes is disliked, but in Brazil, it infuriates scores of taxpayers, including me, it is an existential concern.   I keep wondering who is benefiting from my big cheque to the lion .  My funds have little chance to go to a countryside school, a rural hospital, let alone to a needy teacher.  On the contrary, my money may end up wasted on pink elephant projects, the election campaigns of shady politicians, the super salaries of judges I have never heard of or, and in a worst-case scenario, be embezzled. Because of the growing costs of the parliamentary amendments, Brazil may be unique ...

At John Kennedy Airport in New York City, I was detained, shackled and sent back to Brazil.   This was a nightmare I had, a couple of days before flying to NYC.   I experienced insomnia and grew concerned over reports of individuals having their US visas revoked, others being denied entry to the country, and some even placed in detention centers.   All had expressed criticisms of Trump's policies.   American immigration officers have revived the rarely used practice of searching electronic devices of international visitors.   I self-censored by hurriedly cleaning my inbox of all messages and comments relative to Trump.   Welcome to free speech in Trump land! On March 20, I spent a restless night on my American Airlines flight flatbed seat.   A lousy airline which even treats its business class passengers badly.   Tickets are astronomically expensive, and the service is poor.   This time, slippers were missing from the amenity set, but passe...