A.C. Flory's Blog, page 20

This…is a /voice/!

I’m gobsmacked at the beauty of this young woman’s voice. She’s obviously been trained, and I foresee a huge future for her. The song is ‘Habanera’ from Bizet’s opera, Carmen.

This is a professional, and very famous version in a higher key:

You’re welcome.

Meeks

The Voice – as seen from outside

Here in Australia, we tend to see ourselves as being far removed from the rest of the world, and often invisible to it. Today, I realised how wrong that assumption is. We are seen, and we are judged.

The following reblog looks at Australia vs The Rest of the World when it comes to Indigenous recognition. It will also be the introduction to why I, a ‘New Australian’, will be voting ‘YES’.

UMM, AUSTRALIA? THIS IS 2023, NOT 1759!

Meet Bill and Ben, the latest additions to our family!

Bill and Ben are about 12 weeks old and pretty ‘wild’ as they’ve just come in from the paddocks. We’re keeping them in our neighbour’s empty chook pen [thanks Jane!] while we try to get them used to us. As you can see, they still try to hide as soon as they see us approaching.

And here they are, tempted out into the open by a few lamb pellets! The way to a lamb’s heart really is through his stomach[s].

We’re hoping Bill and Ben will be grass munching pets and companions to our last surviving old alpaca. So far, the alpaca seems to be very wary of them. Fingers crossed she’ll accept them into her ‘herd’ once they’ve been civilized [sic] a bit.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Meeks

Decoding ‘speech’ in the brain

When it comes to biology, genetics, and tech, I try very hard to write ‘hard’ science fiction – i.e. scifi that has its roots in real world knowledge. Well, today I went down a rabbit hole and discovered research that makes the concepts behind Innerscape not only possible but a certainty! Maybe not on the timeline I envisaged, but real nonetheless.

-dance-

The video below shows the test subject thinking the prompts that appear on the screen followed by her avatar saying the words out loud, and with facial expressions!

https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-023-06443-4/MediaObjects/41586_2023_6443_MOESM3_ESM.mp4Supplementary video 1

The research, entitled ‘A high-performance neuroprosthesis for speech decoding and avatar control‘, was published in the journal Nature on August 23, 2023. You can only read the Abstract:

‘…For facial-avatar animation, we demonstrate the control of virtual orofacial movements for speech and non-speech communicative gestures. The decoders reached high performance with less than two weeks of training. Our findings introduce a multimodal speech-neuroprosthetic approach that has substantial promise to restore full, embodied communication to people living with severe paralysis.’

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06443-4

But if you scroll down to the supplemental data, you can find a number of videos detailing various stages of the results. You can also see the electrical connection that links the electrodes inside the subject’s skull to the computers on the outside.

Those electrodes are only attached to a couple of small areas of the brain that are specifically involved in the creation of speech [and facial expressions]. In my Innerscape, patients’ skulls are removed completely so that nanotechnology can ‘grow’ an interface over the entire brain. The interface is then connected to a super powerful AI that provides biofeedback to the brain, interpreting thoughts and feelings and providing external stimuli to make the brain feel as if its avatar, and the digital world in which it ‘lives’ are both real.

So science hasn’t caught up with Innerscape yet, but boy is it rushing in that direction!

cheers,
Meeks

Some VERY good health news!

I don’t normally talk about my ‘brush’ with cancer, but today I’m throwing my reticence out the window because I’ve just received some wonderful news: I am completely cancer and cancer precursor free! As I hadn’t had a checkup since a couple of years before the pandemic, I admit I was worried that something nasty might have snuck in while I was too scared to go to the specialist.

But I’m perfectly fine.

I suppose I can’t start with news like that without putting it into some sort of context. -deep breath- Okay, in 2010 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer….which had spread to one lymph node. That is usually not a good prognosis.

Treatment consisted of a radical hysterectomy followed by radiation therapy. For once in my life I did not look up what the stats were. Then, a couple of months after the radiation therapy, a tradie came to do some work for me. We got to talking and he told me a story about a woman who had tried to poison her sick husband with iodine. Instead, the unfortunate man became well.

I didn’t know whether to dismiss the tradie’s story as urban myth or sheer fantasy, but it intrigued me enough to look up the benefits of iodine. It was, and still is, used to treat stubborn infections of the skin, and some people think it works because it stimulates the body’s own immune system.

I decided to give the iodine a try, and ever since then, I ‘paint’ a little pure iodine on my skin a couple of times a year, for about a week or two, longer if I have a cold.

Did the iodine work? Has it kept me cancer free for going on 13 years?

I honestly don’t know because anecdotal evidence doesn’t count. And yet…here I am, and at the very least, I know that my self-administered iodine therapy has done me no harm.

Warning! There are some health problems that could get worse if the immune system is over stimulated! I’m thinking here of known autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis etc., where the immune system attacks the body’s own, healthy cells. So it always pays to talk to your health care professional before making any changes to your treatment regime. That said, it’s worth having that conversation just in case iodine does work for you.

And with that I feel I’ve finally paid forward that tradie’s advice. If it helps even one other person out there, then talking about my own health issues will have been more than worth it.

Take care of yourselves,

Much love,
Meeks

George Takei on scapegoating

The following extract is a powerful, heartfelt message for everyone, everywhere, not just in America, because bigotry and hatred and scapegoating know no national boundaries.

‘When I was 5 years old, I didn’t understand what a scapegoat was. All I understood was that, because of Japan’s aggression that pulled the United States into the war, my family and I had to leave our Los Angeles home at gunpoint, taking with us only what we could carry.
…We were rendered destitute, then held without charge or trial behind barbed wire, all for the “crime” of looking like the people who’d bombed Pearl Harbor.‘

George Takei: https://jilldennison.com/2023/08/18/george-takei-speaks-from-experience-we-should-listen/#comment-217184

That was in the US, but Australia has it’s own dark history. Only now are we starting to learn about the murders of gay men that were ignored by police simply because the victims were gay.

And now it’s the 21st century, and trans people have become ‘the enemy’ because politicians have discovered that hate is good for their careers, and trans people are low hanging fruit ripe for the plucking. Why? Because the general populace are woefully ignorant about what it means to be transgender, and because tormented teens can’t fight back.

But do we really have to use trans people as surrogate punching bags for our anger and general dissatisfaction with life?

Some people will always hate, but they are, and should remain, a tiny, twisted, psychopathic minority.

One of the best things about living in a democracy is that we-the-majority can vote those unscrupulous politicians out. And keep them out. This is our superpower. If we don’t use it to protect those who need protection the most, we may find that somewhere down the road, the same weapons will be pointed at us. Because we stayed silent. Because we thought ‘Not my problem’.

The abuse you ignore is the abuse you empower.

Meeks

Translating brainwaves – one step closer to Innerscape

I’ll be honest, this doesn’t sound like the Pink Floyd song I played ad nauseam as a much younger woman, but it is one step closer to the digital future I imagined for Miira and the others in Innerscape:

And, of course, the translation was done with the help of AI. You can read about how the scientists did it in this Futurism article.

For newcomers to my blog, Innerscape is the story of a digital world of the future where the terminally ill can live out their lives in avatars that feel real. I won’t reveal exactly how that happens, but I will say that it involves very powerful AI and nanotechnology.

We are nowhere near that level of technology yet, but it is nice when science starts to catch up with science fiction! lol

cheers,
Meeks

Necrom at last!

If you’ve been following the trials and tribulations of my attempt to play the latest chapter of Elder Scrolls Online [hereinafter called ESO], you will know that I’ve been back and forth with Bethesda customer support since August 4th. On August 15th, I uploaded an angry video to Youtube, detailing my efforts to get what I paid for:

Today, I opened my email inbox and found an email from Bethesda. In it, the Advanced Team representative apologised for the delay, citing a large number of support requests, and said that they had redeemed the game code manually.

I didn’t quite believe it until I logged into ESO and found that yes, I could finally port to the Telvanni Peninsula, the starting point for the Necrom chapter:

And there I am, at last.

I feel relieved, but that’s about all. This particular fight has been long and rather gruelling. Was it worth the effort? Yes: for the principle. Maybe: for the actual game.

Thank you to everyone who helped give this issue some visibility, particularly the wonderful people who checked out the video. I don’t know whether the video helped speed up the resolution of this issue or not, but the timing suggests that perhaps it did. So thank you.

cheers,
Meeks

Bethesda ‘redeem code’ does NOT work [Update August 12, 2023]

I just realised that the screenshot that should have appeared with this post did not make it past the preview so here are the two screenshots, I sent to Bethesda:

This is the screenshot referenced in the post below. If you click on the image it will open at full size.

And this is the original screenshot dating from August 4, 2023. Again, if you click on the image, you can see that apart from the date, the two screenshots are the same because the problem remains the same.

cheers,
Meeks

Warning: this is going to be an angry post.

I’ll start by defining some terms:

Bethesda is the company that created the Elder Scrolls Online [ESO]. ESO is what’s known as an MMORPG, or a massively multiplayer role playing game.The game keeps expanding and those expansions are called ‘chapters’ [by ESO].Each ‘chapter’ has to be bought so you can play it. The way you buy a ‘chapter’ is by buying an ‘activation code’.The activation code unlocks code that is already there, but unavailable.You can buy said activation code from Bethesda itself, or Steam [a gaming platform], or from a third party reseller.The third party reseller I have been using for years is called Greenman Gaming. Greenman Gaming sells me an activation code that it receives from Bethesda.To apply the activation code, you go to the Bethesda website, login, press ‘Redeem Code’, type or copy-paste the activation code into the appropriate box. And that should be it. By redeeming the code, the relevant chapter should be unlocked. The latest ‘chapter’ is called Necrom.I bought Necrom on August 4, 2023. I am still waiting for the activation code to be redeemed.

In other words, I’m still waiting for something I bought and paid for to actually work.

The tech support person at Greenman Gaming has been great, but as the activation code comes from Bethesda, and as it has to be redeemed on the Bethesda website, there’s nothing they can do.

When I first contacted Bethesda support, this is what I was told:

‘We understand you are having an issue with a third party purchase.We do not have the tools to support a third party purchase and request you reach out to the seller for any problems you may have.’

I had contacted Greenman Gaming as soon as the code didn’t work. I admit, at that point I was wondering whether I’d bought a dodgy activation code. Greenman Gaming replied:

‘We have been partnered with Zenimax and Bethesda for years, and we receive all of our game keys from them directly, we haven’t experienced their support team refusing to assist with an issue such as this before.’

I emailed Bethesda support again:

‘Hi. Thanks for your response, but it doesn’t make any sense. I’ve always bought my chapters/DLCs from third party sellers, and this is the first time I’ve had any issues redeeming the code.
As for contacting the seller, I’ve already done so and they told me to contact you. I feel as if you’re all passing the buck on this one.
Question: is there a reason the activation code I entered is not working? Or is there a problem with the /redeeming/ of that code? And why would buying the upgrade from a third party seller be a problem in the first place?’

At the end of that email, I asked that the issue be escalated until I received a ‘proper answer’.

On August 5, 2023, I received another email from Bethesda that acknowledged my request:

‘I am escalating your ticket to a specialized team to ensure you receive the best possible resolution of your issue. Thank you for your patience while they review your request, they should be reaching out to you shortly.’

Shortly did not happen.

Every two days I sent an email to ensure that the support request wasn’t closed after 4 days of inactivity. In my last email I said I would go public if I didn’t get some satisfaction.

Today, August 10, 2023, I finally received an email from a new person at Bethesda. This person essentially told me to do what I’d ALREADY DONE BEFORE. The tone of the email was particularly infuriating as it seemed to imply that I was too stupid to follow the most basic of instructions. Worse, the redeem code function still did not work.

After testing the instructions, this is what I replied:

RJS – this response is both useless and offensive!

You have told me to do EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE DONE BEFORE. On EXACTLY the same page. With EXACTLY the same result. And that result is a FAIL.

If you had bothered to look at any of the screenshots I sent during the course of this laughable ‘support’, you would see that I had already done what you ‘suggested’. And this is the result today:

[image error]

This is the screen you see AFTER you enter data into the Redeem Code box. There, circled in red,  is the keycode I copy-pasted in order to ensure that I did not make a mistake. And there, also circled in red is the data and time.

Hoping that this time something would be different, I waited a good 5-10 minutes before checking my email. The result? NOTHING FROM BETHESDA!!!!!!!

I then checked my spam folder and again….NOTHING FROM BETHESDA.

Please do not treat me like an idiot. I want this problem escalated to someone who actually knows what he or she is doing. The problem is with the Bethesda website and I want it fixed. In the meantime, I am going to follow through and go public with this mess. I’ve had enough.

Andrea Flory

I guess I can understand the patronising tone of the tech support person as I did make the mistake of mentioning that I was 70. I guess they didn’t read the part about using computers for 40 years. -grinds teeth-

What I can’t understand is how a company as big as Bethesda can be so poor at customer support. Or perhaps they know what the problem is but are not prepared to fix it for just one[?] customer. Or perhaps they’re so big they think it won’t matter if one[?] customer gets angry.

At this point, I am so outraged, I’m prepared to be a thorn in Bethesda’s side until hell freezes over.

Apologies but I had to vent or go crazy,
Meeks

p.s. If anyone else has had this issue, I’d love to hear about it in comments!

Bethesda ‘redeem code’ does NOT work

Warning: this is going to be an angry post.

I’ll start by defining some terms:

Bethesda is the company that created the Elder Scrolls Online [ESO]. ESO is what’s known as an MMORPG, or a massively multiplayer role playing game.The game keeps expanding and those expansions are called ‘chapters’ [by ESO].Each ‘chapter’ has to be bought so you can play it. The way you buy a ‘chapter’ is by buying an ‘activation code’.The activation code unlocks code that is already there, but unavailable.You can buy said activation code from Bethesda itself, or Steam [a gaming platform], or from a third party reseller.The third party reseller I have been using for years is called Greenman Gaming. Greenman Gaming sells me an activation code that it receives from Bethesda.To apply the activation code, you go to the Bethesda website, login, press ‘Redeem Code’, type or copy-paste the activation code into the appropriate box. And that should be it. By redeeming the code, the relevant chapter should be unlocked. The latest ‘chapter’ is called Necrom.I bought Necrom on August 4, 2023. I am still waiting for the activation code to be redeemed.

In other words, I’m still waiting for something I bought and paid for to actually work.

The tech support person at Greenman Gaming has been great, but as the activation code comes from Bethesda, and as it has to be redeemed on the Bethesda website, there’s nothing they can do.

When I first contacted Bethesda support, this is what I was told:

‘We understand you are having an issue with a third party purchase.We do not have the tools to support a third party purchase and request you reach out to the seller for any problems you may have.’

I had contacted Greenman Gaming as soon as the code didn’t work. I admit, at that point I was wondering whether I’d bought a dodgy activation code. Greenman Gaming replied:

‘We have been partnered with Zenimax and Bethesda for years, and we receive all of our game keys from them directly, we haven’t experienced their support team refusing to assist with an issue such as this before.’

I emailed Bethesda support again:

‘Hi. Thanks for your response, but it doesn’t make any sense. I’ve always bought my chapters/DLCs from third party sellers, and this is the first time I’ve had any issues redeeming the code.
As for contacting the seller, I’ve already done so and they told me to contact you. I feel as if you’re all passing the buck on this one.
Question: is there a reason the activation code I entered is not working? Or is there a problem with the /redeeming/ of that code? And why would buying the upgrade from a third party seller be a problem in the first place?’

At the end of that email, I asked that the issue be escalated until I received a ‘proper answer’.

On August 5, 2023, I received another email from Bethesda that acknowledged my request:

‘I am escalating your ticket to a specialized team to ensure you receive the best possible resolution of your issue. Thank you for your patience while they review your request, they should be reaching out to you shortly.’

Shortly did not happen.

Every two days I sent an email to ensure that the support request wasn’t closed after 4 days of inactivity. In my last email I said I would go public if I didn’t get some satisfaction.

Today, August 10, 2023, I finally received an email from a new person at Bethesda. This person essentially told me to do what I’d ALREADY DONE BEFORE. The tone of the email was particularly infuriating as it seemed to imply that I was too stupid to follow the most basic of instructions. Worse, the redeem code function still did not work.

After testing the instructions, this is what I replied:

RJS – this response is both useless and offensive!

You have told me to do EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE DONE BEFORE. On EXACTLY the same page. With EXACTLY the same result. And that result is a FAIL.

If you had bothered to look at any of the screenshots I sent during the course of this laughable ‘support’, you would see that I had already done what you ‘suggested’. And this is the result today:

[image error]

This is the screen you see AFTER you enter data into the Redeem Code box. There, circled in red,  is the keycode I copy-pasted in order to ensure that I did not make a mistake. And there, also circled in red is the data and time.

Hoping that this time something would be different, I waited a good 5-10 minutes before checking my email. The result? NOTHING FROM BETHESDA!!!!!!!

I then checked my spam folder and again….NOTHING FROM BETHESDA.

Please do not treat me like an idiot. I want this problem escalated to someone who actually knows what he or she is doing. The problem is with the Bethesda website and I want it fixed. In the meantime, I am going to follow through and go public with this mess. I’ve had enough.

Andrea Flory

I guess I can understand the patronising tone of the tech support person as I did make the mistake of mentioning that I was 70. I guess they didn’t read the part about using computers for 40 years. -grinds teeth-

What I can’t understand is how a company as big as Bethesda can be so poor at customer support. Or perhaps they know what the problem is but are not prepared to fix it for just one[?] customer. Or perhaps they’re so big they think it won’t matter if one[?] customer gets angry.

At this point, I am so outraged, I’m prepared to be a thorn in Bethesda’s side until hell freezes over.

Apologies but I had to vent or go crazy,
Meeks

p.s. If anyone else has had this issue, I’d love to hear about it in comments!