Tag: bizarre

Nikola Tesla, two planets, and El Cajon!

Whenever I walk through downtown El Cajon, I make sure to pass by the Unarius Academy of Science. I peer through the front windows, wondering what weird new thing I might see.

Yesterday, I did find something new.

Yes, there were still displays concerning lost Atlantis, the future arrival of the Space Brothers, a Map of the Interplanetary Confederation, and students engaging in psychodrama as they reenact past-life experiences. But, lo and behold, there’s now a display that celebrates Nikola Tesla!

It’s titled The Unobstructed Universe of Nikola Tesla.

Taking photos through the windows of the building is very difficult due to strong reflections from the street. But here we go.

One sign calls Nikola Tesla a cosmic visionary and a dweller on two planets, and “If you wish to find the secrets of the universe, think of energy, frequency and vibration.”

This display seems apropos, as their website states how Unarius offers “…a course in self-mastery, based on the interdimensional understanding of energy–the joining of science and spirit.“

I don’t get the dweller on two planets, however. Tesla actually journeyed to Mars?

One of the Unarius webpages explains how Tesla thought we could communicate with beings from other planets. In 1899, he believed he had received a message likely from Mars.

Yesterday I also noticed the parking lot near the Unarius Academy of Science has a new mural. Here it is:

Have you seen their cool flying saucer car? I spotted it once during a walk through Coronado.

Just for fun, here it is again!

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AI experiment: Martians arrive in San Diego!

I had a fun idea for a new AI experiment!

Last night I was rereading H. G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds, when suddenly I wondered… What crazy images would the AI Drawing Assist function of my Samsung Galaxy smartphone create, should I use the text prompt: “Martians arrive in San Diego” and tap Generate.

I had my phone create the images in Pop Art style. That explains why words are sometimes splashed as if in a comic book. In many instances, the AI misspelled San Diego or produced absurd words.

I selected the best, most diverse images out of many that were produced.

Most had boats in a bay and flying saucers descending above a city that resembles San Diego. Certain skyscrapers like those of the Manchester Grand Hyatt are recognizable, even if oddly drawn or positioned.

A few surprising images had the green Martians themselves!

This is the third time I’ve experimented with the AI Drawing Assist on my phone. Would you like to see some more bizarre results?

Strange images of “Balboa Park at sunset” are here.

Eye-popping images of “San Diego 100 years in the future” are here!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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A funny Air Mail mailbox in Pacific Beach!

An unusual mailbox is located high above the sidewalk in Pacific Beach. You might see it while cruising down Ingraham Street.

What’s that? I wondered during my walk today. Is that actually a mailbox? Only a mail delivery giant could possibly reach it!

Then I zoomed my camera in for a closer photograph…

Oh, I see! The funny mailbox is for Air Mail! Makes perfect sense!

Hopefully the mail delivery aircraft doesn’t stall!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

AI images: San Diego 100 years in the future!

What will the city of San Diego look like 100 years in the future? I was curious how today’s generative AI might picture it.

I used the prompt “San Diego 100 years in the future” with the AI Drawing Assist on a Samsung Galaxy phone. The images that were produced were rather startling!

Futuristic buildings, exotic elevated walkways and new modes of transportation…but how realistic is it to believe such radical transformations could be made in only one hundred years? (Um…anti-gravity?)

Nevertheless, this is pretty cool!

I see identifiable aspects of the present city skyline are incorporated into images, as well as San Diego Bay. Notice how certain recognizable buildings are arbitrarily positioned or weirdly altered by the artificial intelligence?

I love how lush green vegetation sprouts everywhere including the roofs and sides of many buildings. I love how curvy and absurdly complicated some of the conjectured architecture is!

(Earlier this year, I performed a similar experiment. I used the term “Balboa Park at sunset” to produce generative AI images in the same way. The results were bizarre. This is what I got!)

Okay–now for today’s experiment. AI draws the future of San Diego…

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Bizarre AI images of Balboa Park!

I performed an experiment today. I asked the AI Drawing Assist on a Samsung Galaxy phone to create artistic images of “Balboa Park at sunset.”

Well, the AI, as you can see, produced some rather bizarre results!

Sure the towers and facades appear superficially like those in Balboa Park, but take a close look. The configurations of buildings, towers, fountains and reflecting pools are truly weird.

In the above photo, why are two towers side by side? Why is the pool located where it is, and so curvy? Why is there a big mountain in the background? Low mountains in reality are far to the east, and Balboa Park’s grand entrance at the California Quadrangle is to the west where the sun sets.

Why is image construction so apparently arbitrary?

It all makes me wonder: How exactly are these images generated? Is there no accurate reference to countless photographs on the internet? Is the AI just too primitive at this point in its development? Is it capable of creating only fantasy worlds? Someone out there with technical expertise might expound on this.

Of course, when the AI images are created, the user is cautioned: Image generation may produce unexpected results. No kidding!

Here are more bizarre examples. The only prompt I used was “Balboa Park at sunset.”

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Four short stories about possible ghosts.

Have you ever seen a ghost? Or something bizarre and inexplicable that you thought might be a ghost?

I’ve heard stories from various people over the years about ghostly experiences, including weird encounters at San Diego’s Whaley House, said to be the most haunted building in America. (You can read several of those stories, told by Whaley House Museum docents, by clicking here.)

I love to write bits of very short fiction. A couple days ago I published a short story about a possible ghost sighting.

I’ve written four of these “ghost” stories over the years. If you’re someone who enjoys thought-provoking tales and possibly a slight shiver, you might enjoy reading them.

Unheard Words can be read here.

Ghost Wind can be read here.

Backward Man is found here.

And the very, very short story that I just completed, Touching a Ghost, which in fact might not concern a ghost, can be read here.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Horde of Psychos invade San Diego’s Gaslamp!

A horde of insane, terrifying Psychos was observed prowling about San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter today. The bandits, arriving from the Borderlands, meandered about Fifth Avenue, startling innocent civilians who merely wanted to have a good time at Comic-Con 2024.

I suppose this gang of Psychos thought the Vault must be located somewhere in the Gaslamp Quarter. I’m not sure how they hoped to find it, however. They didn’t appear too bright.

One approached me and I thought of running for dear life. But when it asked whether I was its mother, I could only feel sorry for the poor bandit.

Of course, these guys were out during Comic-Con promoting the upcoming movie Borderlands. And they were handing out Entertainment Weekly Comic-Con Special Issue magazines, too!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

Skeleton in window of The Brain Observatory!

The Brain Observatory in downtown San Diego appears to be an intriguing place. It’s been open for a year or so, if memory serves. It’s located in the space that the SDSU Downtown Gallery once called home.

According to their website, The Brain Observatory is not only a research institute with state-of-the-art scientific equipment, but students and visitors can examine a large collection of donated human brains.

There is also an art gallery at The Brain Observatory. Check out a fascinating exhibition featuring six artists here.

As I walked down the sidewalk past The Brain Observatory early this morning, I noticed a skeleton sitting inside one window holding a brain.

Does the skeleton intend to place the brain into its own skull?

Or is this simply a bit of fun for Halloween?

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Evidence in Bonita of the Proctor Valley Monster?

The concrete cast of a weird, apparently inhuman footprint is now on display at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center. Some residents who live in the area claim the cast is “concrete” evidence of the legendary Proctor Valley Monster.

Over the years, there have been various reported sightings of the Proctor Valley Monster along lonely Proctor Valley Road, in the secluded hills and fields east of Chula Vista, west of Jamul.

Certain witnesses have said the monster resembles Bigfoot, standing about seven feet tall and hairy, walking with long strides. Others have claimed the monster is entirely different. There have been accounts that the Proctor Valley Monster appears like a strange, mutilated cow, or a silent female apparition, or an inexplicable, ghostly light…

Articles I’ve found tell a few of these strange stories and provide possible explanations. Here and here and here and here.

According to an August 20, 2003 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, which is also on display, nobody knows how the bizarre footprint cast ended up in the Bonita Museum’s collection. But there the footprint is, for anyone to see, mounted behind glass!

Is the Proctor Valley Monster merely an urban legend? Is the creature simply a product of human imagination, shadowy fear, and perhaps a bit of sly humor?

At the Bonita Museum visitors can also view a copy of the graphic novel Proctor Valley Road. I flipped quickly through it and discovered more than a few terrifying monsters. According to Amazon’s description, the book follows a group of kids down the most haunted, demon-infested stretch of road in America.

Well, San Diego has the Whaley House, commonly described as the most haunted house in America. We have the most haunted stretch of road, too?

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Unarius Academy of Science students reenact past lives!

A fascinating display in one window of the Unarius Academy of Science in El Cajon shows students engaging in psychodrama, reenacting past-life experiences.

I walked past the Unarius Academy of Science today. It’s located in downtown El Cajon. You might have seen their flying saucer car or the space murals by their parking lot.

According to an educational sign in the window, beginning in the late 1970’s, students were filmed during their elaborate psychodramas to help them recognize and overcome past-life shocks and traumas.

A different display filled this particular window the last time I peered through it, a little over a year ago.

I can’t say I know anyone who has studied here, but no doubt the coursework is just a bit unusual!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!