If you have made gingerbread dogs can you substitute for howls?

I mean, yes, but doesn’t help change their minds…

Yes obviously the environment, and also the stealing and the slippery slope type argument but they cut zero ice and get me labelled as a fun sponge ‘it’s just a laugh, stop taking it so seriously’. Any thoughts?

I am with you on hating AI with a vibrant passion… but I’m finding it hard to articulate why people should stop using it for fun/silly things in ways that they get. Like making jingles for their dogs (true example). Clearly they’d never get a professional to do that, and it’s good enough for that

But for other people - better gardeners than I am for sure, who have nicer gardens and flowers - the gardening itself is a joy. The trouble is that we have conflation of people who don’t like these specific processes or effort and a lack of care about the quality of output

I 100% agree with this, but with a side note. Not all creation/process is fun to everyone. I absolutely LOATHE gardening for example, though I love having flowers. So the process is pure slog to get to my outcome. If someone said I could automate that away I would JUMP at it.

She seems to learn magic, giving her real power as opposed to his entirely fake abilities, but that’s not really helpful…

And when you add in the Nessarose story of power and loneliness and then assassination… BLEAK.

Locking up even someone as evil as Morrible without due process and in admittedly bad conditions is not classically ‘good’, nor is blackmail.

She rules and we infer that this is better but her power is essentially the same as the Wizard, founded on her looks and charm rather than anything solid

So in effect, she realises she actually can’t win. The only way she effects change is by losing, so she fakes her death, the only option left to her. She passes on the baton to Glinda…

Who stops being ‘good’ and becomes quite wicked in many ways…

So how does this play out? Well, Elphaba tries working with the system (for about 5s) but realises she just can’t. She basically converts Glinda to her cause, but fails with everyone else. All her good deeds are spun into wicked acts and/or have genuinely bad consequences. There’s a whole song…

Elphaba becomes a freedom fighter against this, wielding true power, right, facts and even emotional appeals.

She is losing though, against the PR campaign that shouts she is wicked and lies, and sets up Glinda as a Good counterpoint, someone who is equally all style and no substance a la Wizard

The set up: Oz is ruled by an authoritarian who has built his power on facade/style. He is a charlatan who can’t do any of the things he claims, but has a cult of followers. He’s consolidating his rule by victimising a specific group; animals. This is backed up by PR aka Madam Morrible

Ooh yes! This is definitely my opinion and probably my most woke.

Terrible concept, leads to all sorts of terrible outcomes.

I hope you had as much fun writing that as I did reading it 😀

It’s vicious up here. RingGo has North Tyneside BUT private car parks including one sharing space with a council park are on PyByPhone. As is Newcastle urban area.

On a boringly practical note (that you’ve probably already thought of) - might be worth trying a different optician…

My wife had a similar experience, went to a different optician and has new glasses and can see properly and everything now

That is also a valid point I have concerns about.

What an absolute nightmare