There is so much to learn from AI flub

September 3, 2023

“Is ‘AI’ good or bad? Depends on who you ask” was the headline on my April 16 column here. Right now, I suspect there are some Columbus newspaper readers not calling it “good.” Advances in artificial intelligence, or AI, continue, and new forms known as “Generative AI” are still picking up steam. Generative AI is a form of AI capable of generating text and other content in response to user prompts. It’s able to read, write and understand text-based data well. But as I stated in that April column, despite all the high-tech advances, robots still lack a very ...

Staffer has surreal role in bringing sci-fi to Warren

August 27, 2023

“Surreal” is how Trumbull County Historical Society Executive Director Meghan Reed described the donation of some 500 science fiction movie props to her organization by Warren native John Zabrucky of Los Angeles. I had a similar reaction several months ago when our newspaper’s entertainment writer, Andy Gray, spelled out to me his involvement in helping to facilitate the donation. The props, which can be spotted in hundreds of Hollywood productions, soon will be on display in a Warren science fiction history museum for all the world to see. Entering retirement age, Zabrucky, a ...

I hope everyone is ready for some football

August 20, 2023

By the time you read this, week one of high school football, incredibly, already will be in the books. High school football kicked off last week with several games to “preview” the season Thursday night, followed by the regular exciting Friday and Saturday night games under the lights, ...

There’s no room for boxing in baseball

August 13, 2023

Other than TV news, sporting events generally are among the few things that blare from the living room TV screen in my home. I frequently comment to my husband about how lucky we are to have a common love of sports. If we didn’t, come game day (i.e., every day), things could get mighty uncomfortable in our home. Don’t get me wrong. Household comfort levels still become questionable this time of year. You see, I grew up in western Pennsylvania, a fan of the NFL team with a steel curtain defense. Hubby grew up in northeast Ohio, rooting for a team that, for reasons I’ll never ...

‘A friend is one soul abiding in two bodies’

August 6, 2023

By the time you are reading this, I already will have returned (God willing) from a trip down South to visit dear friends with whom my husband and I get together about once a year. Together, there are six of us — three couples — who became friends decades ago. New technology — ...

Enjoy the summer heat but be smart about it

July 30, 2023

I hate weather stories. Allow me to clarify. I don’t hate the kind of weather stories that involve news reports on floods or tornadoes or bomb cyclone snow storms. Rather, I hate weather stories that say, basically, “It’s hot!” in the middle of July. Or that say, “It’s really ...