There is something disturbing—frightening, really —about how easily artificial intelligence can manipulate digital assets from the simplest of commands.
Take for example the Featured Image. From the original (see companion photo), I instructed Samsung Galaxy AI to dress the cat in prison clothes. The animal waited outside my neighbor’s apartment building’s gate, which on closer inspection reminded of prison bars.
The Featured Image isn’t the first Fortnight Lilies shared with you, and I suppose no new are necessary. But as I walked past these three, the potential composition grouping piqued my interest. So, I hauled out Galaxy S26 Ultra, switched to Portrait mode, and took the shot. Vitals: f/1.4, ISO 64, 1/5000 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 12:35 p.m. PDT, yesterday.
Putting aside a few early-on complaints, this Samsung is the best smartphone that I have ever owned. The physical balance in the hand is exceptional, and it’s comfortable to hold. I carry my phones bareback; no case, so consider me a connoisseur about physical balance.
Earlier today, as a memory, Microsoft OneDrive presented photos taken on this date in 2022—when the village of University Heights celebrated 25 years of its iconic sign. I had captured the majority of pics using Leica Q2 Monochrom, which was beyond my meager amateur skills. I sold the camera to a doctor in December 2024.
Looking over the selection, I chose one random street shot for artificial intelligence embellishment. I clicked the “Restyle with AI” button and typed “colorize”, which took surprising amount of time to do. The app, running on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, presented three options. I saved them all for your review, because the AI did more than add color; it made some surprising changes to the content that you must see.
I praised the artist’s skills of Rick’s male owner to his partner. But, as she confessed, he uses artificial intelligence tools to create the stickers, which are quite popular around the neighborhood. So is the black cat, who is a glutton for attention and knows how to easily get it.
Rick joined my “Cats of University Heights” series in August 2021, when he lived in an alley house with (presumed) litter mate Pixie (nickname). She’s still there; Rick moved on to Alabama Street, where he chose new owners and has lived lavishly since.
For Easter Sunday, let’s use modern tech to compare and contrast. Today is supposed to be the celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the hope human beings can receive spiritual salvation. Physical redemption is the responsibility of the Second Coming.
Easter also celebrates the bunny—a rapidly breeding animal that aligns more with ancient, pagan fertility rights. Candy and sweets are all about enjoyment of the flesh, as is the worship of fertility practices of the gods of Spring. Christian teaching emphasizes the spirit and dominion over the flesh. Materialistic cultures and religions promote physical joy, from simple pleasures to hedonism.
All I wanted was to share the Featured Image, converted to JPG from RAW. More than an hour after I started said process, progress was zero. The photo was pixeled in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and editing option was greyed out. No online search, even with Artificial Intelligence insight, revealed any discernable solution.
I worked on ARM-based Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge, running native Lightroom. I eventually abandoned the effort, because the night waned away; I don’t like to give up without solving something. I instead processed the NEF file on Intel-based Microsoft Laptop Studio, which is older and considerably slower—and with atrociously disappointing battery life.
Yesterday, in my news feed an odd story popped up: A cat wandered into an elementary school and made himself comfortable with the kids. He returned every school day from 1952 to 1968, delighting teachers and students. They named him Room 8, because that’s where he consistently went.
One commenter to the story flagged it as Artificial Intelligence fraud because of how it was written and Room 8 nomenclature. Not even kids would choose that name, he asserted, but AI would. I must admit that the story’s sentence structure was juvenile, which could suggest AI fakery—of which there is too much.
After my father died nearly a year ago, my sister sent some of his memorabilia—thousands of slides (mostly) from the 1970s; journals from the same era (not yet read by me); and a handful of photos.
About six months passed before I opened the boxes containing the stuff. Nearly three weeks before dying, he gave away the family farm to strangers, which poisoned my interest in my father’s personal things. I am still quite unresolved about the situation.
Among the major problems with today’s news reporting is sourcing. Writers generate stories from Instagrams or TikToks. They take Reddit posts and treat them as gospel (praise, Jesus!). They second- or third-source from blogs, X-posts, or other news sites. Instead, reporters should source firsthand.
If you don’t directly engage someone, you don’t know what’s true. Hearsay isn’t admissible in court and surely shouldn’t be permissible in journalism. I understand that time is a problem when employers impose quotas in an attempt to pay homage to the Great Google God of search. But that’s no excuse for poor sourcing.
While walking this evening, I stopped to regard one of my neighbor’s flower gardens. Initially passing by, I turned around, pulled out Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and shot the Featured Image in Portrait mode, which produces bokeh-like background blur. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/125 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 6:27 p.m. PDT.
Phone photography was on my mind as I strolled sidewalks; yesterday, Google unveiled new smartphones, including the Pixel 9 Fold, Pro, and Pro XL. The latter two are all about the cameras, and the experiences artificial intelligence and software can magically make.
The unexpected encounters on California roads are sometimes surrealistic sci-fi—as was the case today driving down Texas Street and entering I-8. My wife pulled behind a futuristic vehicle that I realized could only be a Tesla Cybertruck. This was my first sighting, here in San Diego.
I got to say that Elon Musk, his designers, or perhaps all, should stop watching shoddy science fiction movies. Pick one: Blade Runner, Freejack, Timecop, or Total Recall—among others. Boxy vehicles with sharp lines are almost stereotypical to the point of being tropes. Now they’re for real? Oh my.
For the first time this month, I hauled down to Old Trolley Barn Park for the third Friday night of summer concerts. Performing this evening: San Diego Funk All Stars. I more or less sauntered through, taking a few quickies using Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
I carry Leica Q2 less often than ever and seriously consider selling it. I love the camera, but the smartphone is convenient and the photos are increasingly good enough, particularly as artificial intelligence-enhanced software makes magic happen to most any shot.