Digital Photos

Backing up Digital Photos

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A friend on mine lost his phone a few months ago. His photos weren’t backed up. Naturally, this induced a mild ripple of panic in me since mine also weren’t backed up at the time. It’s always one of those things on the “to-do” list. The loose translation: I won’t make a move until something happens. Then I’ll swear a lot, berating myself for not having made the backups before. After learning this lesson the hard way, things would change. This time, however, I made it a priority to backup over two years’ worth of photos before tragedy struck.

Since I dislike using the automatic backup option, I had to research other methods. It requires some time and effort to create manual backups. However, it works better for me because it offers me more control.

The backup system I use is an app (Photo Transfer App) to seamlessly move photos from phone to laptop (or backup drive). Prior to this, I had tried other methods to move photos from my phone or iPad to my laptop/backup drive. Nothing every worked that well, perhaps because of compatibility issues between Mac and Android. I tried connecting the devices with cables, using bluetooth, using built-in or downloaded apps. Finally, I found this app.

When determining what backup option will work best for you, here are some things to consider:

Convenience – if it’s not easy, you’re not likely to do it. Think of something that’s manageable. I do my backup every month.

Privacy – this is my hesitation with the automatic back-up from my phone. I don’t trust cloud-based storage options. However, there are lots of secure cloud-based options available. Do your research!

Organization – sometimes I like to organize the photos in my phone. Ideally my backup system would allow me to maintain this system. Also, I hate it when the backup option includes photos in the “deleted” folder. This is how the iPad backup used to work and it drove me crazy. Deleted photos should stay deleted. Including them in a backup is a waste of time and space.

Location – it’s always good to consider having backups in more than one place (i.e., in the cloud and on a backup drive).

Be proactive with backing up photos and other precious things stored in your phone. Learning this lesson the hard way is no fun.

Digital Dilemma, True Confessions

Discovering Audiobooks

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As if it wasn’t enough to continual debate between ebooks and paper books, I now have audiobooks to add as a third contender. I discovered them a little bit accidentally. Last fall I joined a book club. One of the members is an audiobook enthusiast. It opened my mind up to the idea a little bit.

Coincidentally, the first book we selected to read (Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer) was very popular. I put a hold on every format available to ensure I could finish it before our first meeting. The ebook was available first. I finished it with only hours to spare on the loan. Immediately following, the audio version became free at the library. There were a few chapters I wanted to review again, so I checked it out. Despite my hesitation to try audiobooks, I quite enjoyed listening to the author read her own book.

Since then, I’ve listened to several audiobooks, for various reasons. Usually it’s because the library doesn’t have an electronic version (my preference) or the wait is too long for the paper version. Or sometimes the audiobook is the only version available! Though not my preference, I am enjoying a lot of things about the audiobook experience.

  1. I can listen while I’m doing other things. This is both a benefit and a detriment. It’s great listening to a story as I commute to work, cook, or fold laundry. But I also find I’m slightly less engaged and don’t retain details as well.
  2. It puts me to sleep as easily as reading does. I use an app called Libby, which allows me to set a timer for how long to listen before it shuts off automatically. Typically I fall asleep so quickly (within 10 – 15 minutes of listening, or less) that I end up having to rewind the story slightly the next day, but it’s not a big deal.
  3. It’s fun listening to an author read their own story, or a skilled actor who can add dimension to characters with different voices and accents.

Overall, I still prefer ebooks and paper books to the audiobooks. Besides, I have several podcasts I enjoy listening to and there’s only so much “ear-time” available in a day. But I’ll definitely add audiobooks to the mix once in a while. Good to discover a new option.

Digital Dilemma

The Trouble with Chatbots

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The trouble with Chatbots is that they are either too dumb to be useful or so deceptively intelligent that their errors are cleverly disguised. Despite my favorable experience with my limited use of ChatGPT, most of the time I find service chatbots get everything wrong. Or the limited results are not so useful. Or my problem is too complex for the chatbot to understand. Even basic things get complicated with a chatbot.

When the weather finally seemed like it was staying nice, I contacted my dealer for a tire swap. By default I ended up with the automated system. A tire swap is a relatively straightforward request, so i thought it would be more efficient.

When prompted by the chatbot, I said something like “I want to change my winter tires.” The bot replied with something about scheduling an oil change. I probably used the word “change”, but never mentioned oil. I tried again, using different words such as “tire swap.” This time the bot replied with a service about a brake replacement. It was all very baffling.

I started requesting to speak with a person, but the chatbot kept offering to book me the next available appointment, without even confirming the service! Finally I got through to a real human who booked me in for something a lot sooner than the chatbot’s earliest date. It was all very weird.

On the other end of the chatbot spectrum are the powerful AI-driven chatbots such as ChatGPT. These chatbots can handle a range of highly sophisticated tasks including:

  • research
  • summarizing long complex works
  • imitating styles
  • creating deepfakes
  • performing analysis
  • and more!

And yet, they are prone to making up information, also called “hallucinating.” Sometimes they are accurate and factual. Other times they are believable, but made up. Discerning the difference is challenging. As things get more tangled using AI to perform tasks, the line between reality and Chatbot invented “reality” will becoming increasingly difficult. Soon people won’t know what to believe.

The promise of the chatbot is alluring. For some, it is already proving beneficial and helpful. But in some scenarios it is still lacking. The technology is either too sophisticated, or not sophisticated enough. In the near future, who knows? The service chatbots will likely respond accurately to inquiries. But can we ever trust the results from the more intelligent chatbots?

Digital Dilemma

The End of Originality

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I love hearing about the new options available with the rapidly advancing AI (artificial intelligence), such as ChatGPT. Every week I receive emails from a different company trying to sell me products based on generative AI. It seems the potential and opportunities for incorporating this new technology is limitless.

A few weeks ago I used ChatGPT to help me write part of a job description. I did several searches and selected the best results to get something close to what I needed. Then I did some customizing. I have to confess, the jump start was pretty nice, especially for something I don’t do regularly. Completing 80% of the work completed with a few simple search queries was efficient.

I enjoyed using ChatGPT to help me out. After, I spent a bit of time fantasizing about other jobs for this kind of an “assistant.” While it is tempting to think about ChatGPT (or equivalent) one day helping me churn out blog postings or chunks of my resume, I had to wonder, is this the end of originality? If ChatGPT analyzed my whole blog (over 10 years of postings) and started churning out similar-sounding posts, would it still be my work? Would my originality and creativity still be a part of it? Even if I customized the end result, most of it would have been crafted by a machine.

I’ve been following the writers’ strike off and on for a few weeks. I know one issue mentioned writers wanting some protection with respect to new technologies introduced. Many writers, understandably, may feel afraid that the technology will replace them.

For example, similar to my experience where about 80% of my job description task was handled by technology, the same thing could happen in a writing studio. The technology, ChatGPT or equivalent, could churn out a script. A reduced number of writers could handle the customizing, reducing the need for so many writers. Additionally, the technology would be able to imitate different writing styles. All the technology needs is samples of a certain style (e.g., James Cameron, Nora Ephron) to create something similar. In my mind, this eliminates some of the true essence of having humans behind the creation. I don’t think we can ever predict how somebody will interpret something, given the chance. But a machine… it’s always learning. But can it learn to be creative on its own?

Human Archives

Discovering Joni

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A few weeks after my father died, I recall finding a stash of CDs he listened to. I also discovered a typed sheet of song lyrics to Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” Though he wasn’t around to ask, I imagined he did that because he wanted to learn them. My true discovery of Joni Mitchell started then. It became a way for me to continue connecting with my father posthumously. And to keep learning about him in his younger years.

Since then I’ve noticed Joni, as I’m fond of calling her, seems to pop up at key moments. For example, this past weekend she gave her first live concert in about twenty years. Coincidentally, my father’s birthday recently passed, father’s day is approaching along with his twentieth deathday. It feels like a sign from Dad to lean on Joni to get me through this month of milestones. Along the way, I may make some new memories crooning along to Joni, or using her music to process the emotions.

I grew up hearing the occasional song by Joni, without really understanding the significance of what I was hearing. Or without realizing who was singing it. Nor did I know she was Canadian until I moved to Canada, almost twenty years ago!

A couple years ago, in the dark days of the pandemic and lock downs, I stumbled across Blue, one of Joni’s finest albums. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the tracks as a way to pass the time in the long periods of physical, social isolation. Another joy is introducing the songs to the younger people in my life, who weren’t exposed to Joni growing up. One of them screams to hear “My Old Man” from the Blue album. Then she needs me to interpret the meaning of the lyrics.

Even if Joni hadn’t recently given a concert, I feel she would have appeared in another way. A silent hug from Dad. Always so much to continue learning, both about my father and Joni, the amazing singer-songwriter.

Productivity, Spring Cleaning

Purging Paper

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I’m always amazed at how many piles of papers I seem to have laying around. Admittedly, some of them are historic. Papers created during an earlier time. A time when all (or most business) happened on paper. Or sometimes I have papers because I forgot to select an option for electronic delivery. Now I have an option to scan older documents or manage them physically until I can purge.

For example, when I set up my new electricity provider in 2020, I never selected electronic statements only. I’m still puzzled why electronic statements weren’t the default option. Producing and mailing paper statements all comes with a cost easily avoided. Even switching to electronic statements was not as easy as I would have liked. I first had to create an account on the My Account portal, different from the account I created to set up a pre-authorized payment. All unnecessarily complicated, but that’s a topic for a future blog post.

Consequently, I have paper statements. Normally I would’ve shredded them instantly except the service provider only maintains them for two years electronically. Since I need to retain some of them for longer than two years, I now have the option of scanning them and junking up my computer, plus spending time on that. Or spend time organizing them physically.

My other challenge is having everything set up so I can only touch everything once. Otherwise I end up resorting and reshuffling all the papers, moving them from one place to another. It’s all very inefficient. I first start by setting up bags or boxes for SHRED, RECYCLING, and TRASH. I also like to have some file folders, pens, and labels ready to go.

Going through the piles is fairly fast to make a determination. Honestly, by the time I work up the motivation for these types of tasks, some documents are too old to be valuable. This makes some of the work easier. The challenging part, however, is figuring out where to store the papers I’m going to keep. Or if I need to scan them, which can be a time consuming task. Sometimes when I store physical papers (e.g., tax receipts when I used to be a small business owner), I include a destruction date right on the folder or envelope. This makes is easier to purge in the future, but still requires effort in the setup.