Unlock the Power of Google’s Gemini Generative AI API Back in January Jose Portilla, a Udemy instructor, offered a free course titled “Master Gemini AI - Google Bard Prompt Engineering Bootcamp” which I jumped on. Jose Portilla teaches classes primarily on or with Python and first took several of his finance classes. This class was introduced right around the time Bard was changed to Gemini. Then this month Jose introduced another free course “Google Gemini AI with Python - Quick Start”....

The Power of Imagined Realities: Dr. Harari on Language and the Sapiens Ascent In his compelling work, “Sapiens”, Dr. Yuval Noah Harari emphasizes the revolutionary role language played in propelling our species, Homo sapiens, to global dominance. It’s not merely our ability to talk about the objective world, but something far more potent that sets us apart. Fact vs. Fiction: The Key to our Success While bees can communicate the location of flowers and ants cooperate instinctively, humans possess the astounding ability to create and believe in things that simply don’t exist outside our imaginations....

Poem of Cat and Snow Upon the windowsill, a feline form Peers out with eyes of amber, filled with scorn At winter’s cold embrace, the snowflakes’ dance A symphony of white, a frigid trance With tail held high, a regal stance it takes Against the icy world, its ire awakes Each step it takes, a paw print in the snow A mark of discontent, a tale of woe The snowflakes land, soft kisses on its fur...

Unravel Sinister Secrets in Mark Dawson’s ‘The Red Room’ If you’re a fan of gripping crime thrillers, get ready to dive into “The Red Room,” the latest installment in Mark Dawson’s acclaimed Atticus Priest series. This master of suspense, known for his John Milton and Beatrix Rose series, has crafted yet another page-turner. Who is Atticus Priest? Disgraced former detective: Priest was once a talented detective but was fired from the police force due to unspecified personal issues....

The Power of Gossip: How Speech Sparked the Cognitive Revolution In his fascinating work, “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” Dr. Yuval Noah Harari presents a compelling argument: the development of complex speech wasn’t just a change in communication for Homo sapiens – it was the primary catalyst for the cognitive revolution that set us apart from other animals. Speech: Not Just for Sapiens Crucially, Harari acknowledges we aren’t the only creatures with speech....

Dr. Yuval Harari’s Sapiens: From Failed Exodus to Global Dominance In his captivating course, “A Brief History of Humankind,” Dr. Yuval Harari delves into a pivotal moment in the story of Homo sapiens: our first attempts to expand beyond our East African homeland. While an initial attempt around 100,000 years ago likely ended in failure, thwarted by encounters with the Neanderthals, something changed. A mere 30,000 years later, Sapiens were leaving Africa and rapidly spreading across the globe....

Migration Our species evolved in East Afica between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. Most experts do agree that by 150,000 years ago East Africa was populated by homo sapiens that look just like us. Around 70,000 years ago homo sapiens left East Africa and quickly spread though the EuroAsian continents. When Homo Sapiens arrived in the Middle east it was already populated by other human species like Neanderthals and Homo Erectus....

Foreword This is another book that I consumed audibly and believe that this particular book was lessened due to the recording. Possibly, if had read the book would have had a different take on it. Am comfortable in all the different types of media from print, digital, and audible. They all have different benefits and I switch between all three; at the moment more focused on audible. Found the book okay but not one that I would ever read again....

Foreword Took another shortcut and asked ChatGPT to produce this article about the book Shogun by James Clavell that I recently finished for the umpteenth time. And the story that ChatGPT did is a really nice job about not revealing any plot reveals. This is also one of my all-time favorite books. Wish that I also could adopt some of the concepts such as eating raw fish, rice, and pickled vegetables....

Foreword Took a shortcut today and asked ChatGPT to produce this article about the book Hail Mary by Andy Weir that I recently finished for the 2nd time. And the story that ChatGPT did is a really nice job about not revealing any plot reveals. This has become one of my all-time favorite books. And yes, am aware of the criticism about a lot of the science not holding up....