Tag: internet

300+ FREE online courses with library card!

If you have a library card with the San Diego Public Library, you can take almost 375 free online courses that further your professional and personal development!

I knew nothing about this amazing opportunity until the above gentleman who works for the library told me about it!

With a library card and access to a computer, anyone can enroll in free Gale Courses that provide 6-week online classes with real instructors. Subjects include everything from Accounting and Finance to Business to Computer Applications to Healthcare and Medical to Law and Legal to Teaching and Education and much more! I was told that completion of certain courses even provides certification.

To see all that is available, check out this webpage.

These free Gale Courses are available through the San Diego Library’s online eLibrary, which you can visit by clicking here.

The eLibrary offers many additional services. Users have access to eBooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, streaming videos, research databases, manuals, and a whole lot more.

Create a free account using your library card and you have access to a huge universe of free online resources!

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If you’d like to see San Diego through my lens, find the “Follow” box in the sidebar to receive new posts in your email, or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

(If you’re viewing Cool San Diego Sights on a phone, you can open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)

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.

Feel free to share!

Ten year anniversary of Cool San Diego Sights!

WordPress notified me just now that my blog Cool San Diego Sights is celebrating its 10 year anniversary today.

Ten years? Good grief! That means I’m already ten years older!

It’s been fun so far. Hopefully there’s much more to come!

Back when I started Cool San Diego Sights, I didn’t imagine these posts I publish in my spare time, using photographs taken with a rather old camera, could end up on popular news apps like Google News and Newsbreak. Believe me, if you’ve discovered my posts in those places and wonder how they possibly rate as news articles, don’t ask me. As I understand it, it’s all determined by mysterious algorithms. Take my blog for what it is. A curious guy walking around San Diego taking photos!

But what a wonderful opportunity to express my love for my city.

And a great opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people, too!

Perhaps I’m most thankful that Cool San Diego Sights has allowed many people to discover my Short Stories by Richard website. As a consequence, my short story One Thousand Likes is now included in a 12th Grade textbook, and part of at least one English Literature course at a major international university.

Ten years ago I had no conception such a thing might happen. If there’s a lesson here, it’s that persistence can pay off. Never lose hope!

Once again, thanks to those of you who swing by Cool San Diego Sights from time to time for a few moments of enjoyment. I keep learning new things. I hope you make a few fun discoveries, too!

Onward!

Richard

P.S. I spied a mysterious garden today in a very unexpected place. That’s coming up!

Artist creates unique playing cards, games!

Brilliant! That’s what I thought when I met artist Jeff Daymont and observed his uniquely designed playing cards and original games!

I was walking through the Seaside Pavilion at the San Diego County Fair–you know, where vendors sell unique wares, demonstrating salad choppers and knives that will cut through a brick–when my eyes fell upon an unusual table. That’s a lot of playing cards, I thought. Then I looked more closely…

Jeff has created playing cards that are truly unique. The Kings and Queens illustrated on cards depict actual monarchs, rulers and royalty from world history. Many of the playing cards are also designed to support all sorts of original games, such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, Water and Lizard!

You can see a bunch of games invented so far for the versatile King’s Keys deck by clicking here. If you think up a new game, submit it!

Not only are these playing cards works of art, but I absolutely love the concept that inspired players can dream up new games!

Do you want to check out Jeff Daymont’s very cool playing cards?

Click here for his website!

Speaking of inventing games, have I ever mentioned that I wrote interactive game software in the early 1980s?

As a young man in high school and college, I created computer games that were published by Softsync and packaged as Double Feature Adventure: Quest for the Holy Grail & The Elusive Mr. Big. The two text adventure games were coded in BASIC for the ZX-81 and TS-1000. My creations were very early versions of open-world role-playing games!

You can read a review of one of my games here!

A similar game I wrote for the Commodore 64 was titled Super Clue. It can be played freely on your computer right now by visiting the Internet Archive here!

Here’s a screenshot of a new game beginning:

Hints: the characters in Super Clue move about randomly, randomly drop and pick up objects, and can randomly leave clues at each location. There are several possible murder weapons. You can search characters and locations and interrogate the roaming characters. Use objects that you pick up like a magnifier, rope and flashlight. The initial character positions are randomly generated. To make a new move, type in a simple two or three word command. Enter “help” to see which words are recognized. One character is initially designated the murderer. Deduce who it is and make an arrest before midnight, or before there are more victims! I’m very proud of the sound effects I created. Be patient! As the ancient program runs on a computer emulator, every move’s resulting text can be a bit slow to appear, so wait a few seconds. Map out the mansion as you move about. Have fun!

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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 Twitter!

Help expand knowledge in San Diego!

Are you passionate about expanding and spreading human knowledge? Have you ever wondered how information is gathered and presented on Wikipedia?

I met James today in Balboa Park. He was telling passersby about the San Diego Wikimedians User Group. I personally use Wikipedia to help research the things I photograph. As you might expect, I asked him all sorts of questions!

James was encouraging everybody to become a contributor to Wikipedia’s vast and growing base of knowledge. Are you an expert when it comes to any particular subject? Have you noticed omissions or inaccuracies in certain articles? Become an editor on Wikipedia. It’s easy!

The mission of the San Diego Wikimedians User Group is not only to promote the wiki movement, but to engage with organizations in the local community. One example is their partnership with the San Diego Central Library. Edit-a-thon programs help the public learn the basics of Wikipedia editing. If you know any organization that would be interested in such an interesting and educational program, you can contact the group via their Facebook page here! Check out their Meetup page here!

Are you worried about bias on certain Wikipedia pages? A part of the solution, James explained, is having many more editors! You, perhaps?

Help expand human knowledge!

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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 Twitter!

Donate online to help burn victims!

San Diego firefighters are out at busy intersections today collecting donations for the Burn Institute. Drivers roll down windows and place a bill or two into a firefighter’s boot! The annual event is called Fill the Boot!

The Burn Institute, serving San Diego and Imperial County, provides important services for those who’ve suffered from burns, and they provide fire safety education in the community.

Would you like to make a donation? Haven’t passed through an intersection with friendly firefighters this morning? Then donate online!

Make your online donation at the Burn Institute website by clicking here!

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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 Twitter!

Baby Boomers Google in Del Mar!

Today I enjoyed a North County adventure!

My travels included a quick stop in front of the Del Mar Library, to see if Baby Boomers Google had reappeared.

It had!

Last summer I noticed it was missing, and learned some vandals had damaged it. The humorous sculpture by Del Mar artist Maidy Morhous is back!

Before Google, we old-timers had to pore through volumes of reference books and encyclopedias. Not sure about the golden apple on top. Perhaps that’s for a helpful librarian or teacher!

If you’d like to see a couple other Del Mar sculptures that are nearby, one of which was also created by Maidy Morhous, click here.

If you’re curious about the amazing mosaic wall you see in front of the library, click here!

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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!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Record your COVID-19 story for the History Center.

Street art spotted during a walk along North Park Way. This masked face looks a bit like a cosmic ice cream cone.

I was looking at the website of the San Diego History Center yesterday when I noticed a cool project they’ve undertaken.

The History Center is looking for San Diego residents to document their personal stories regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

The recorded experiences–in writing, video or audio–will be preserved by the San Diego History Center and become part of their permanent collection. Years from now, when people want to understand what this unusual moment in history was like, they’ll be able to refer back to your own unique story.

Questions you might answer include “How has COVID-19 changed your daily life?” and “How is your neighborhood/social circle responding to the crisis?” and “Has COVID-19 changed your perspective about living in San Diego?”

If this project piques your interest and you have something to say, go to the History Happening Now! website and Share Your Story by clicking here!

A lesson I have learned from blogging.

Never stop flying.
Never stop flying.

This coming Sunday, Cool San Diego Sights turns seven years old.

Seven years doing this? Unbelievable.

Starting a blog and watching it grow very, very slowly over many years has taught me an important lesson about life. Patience and perseverance might be the two most important keys to success.

While having fun and doing things that I love–walking and writing–I have spent literally thousands of hours working on Cool San Diego Sights. A good chunk of my life has been spent taking and selecting photos, cropping and adjusting them, doing research, being a detective, plotting out future blogs, making corrections, being obsessive/compulsive, providing updates, pulling out my hair (what’s left of it), periodically wondering if I should quit this sometimes tedious exercise…

And now, to my complete surprise, I find myself getting traffic from Google News, News Break, Chrome’s suggested articles, and a remarkable variety of major websites.

As a result of Cool San Diego Sights’ growing success, one of my other websites, Short Stories by Richard, is being visited by students from classrooms around the world. Most are reading my little story One Thousand Likes, which I’m told might be used in an upcoming twelfth grade textbook produced by one of the world’s most prestigious publishers.

Pinch me.

Is this real?

To think this thing started on a whim. I’ve always walked. I had an unused little camera. I created a simple, easy WordPress blog. I figured I’d post a photo and a few words once in a while.

So if you’re a blogger or writer out there in a ridiculously enormous world that contains billions of web pages, and you’ve begun to wonder if it’s really worth the effort–keep at it! Don’t give up! Do your best! Stay passionate! Write well, be truthful, be original, be creative, be smart, be curious, understand and appeal to your readers’ humanity, and remember to always maintain your sense of humor!

And never lose hope! Because you never know!

Actors read literary works online for TwainFest!

The spirit of Twain lives in this wonderful annual festival.

Do you love reading literature from the 19th century?

I do!

I love Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson, Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville . . . there are too many great Victorian authors from this period to mention!

If you love to read these authors, too, there’s an online event in progress that you’ll probably like!

During this special event you can listen to selections from 19th century literature read aloud by San Diego actors!

It’s part of Write Out Loud’s virtual TwainFest, and you can subscribe by clicking here to get daily links to new YouTube readings in your email!

What was the event like before the coronavirus pandemic? To see photos from TwainFest last year in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, click here!

Mark Twain uses his cane to point out his classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Many 19th century authors and fictional characters were seen walking about during TwainFest.
Mark Twain uses his cane to point out his classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

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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!

To read a few stories I’ve written, click Short Stories by Richard.