Dennis M Powers

@dennismpowers.bsky.social

516 Followers 372 Following

Writer, Technologist, Quirky Old Guy, Sci-Fi Website: https://dennismpowers.com

Picture of people in hammocks in silhouette with the sunset behind them. It is a placeholder to play the music I am trying to identify.
A scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier where the helicarrier crashes.
young child in an iron.
A root beer ice cream float in a repurposed beer glass next to a dark brown bottle of root beer.
Wall-E robot from the Pixar movie holding a rubix cube.
Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet.
When I think back on it, the clues were there. However, I didn't see them. On that second Monday in October, I awoke not to the sound of leaf blowers, traffic, or barking dogs. I awoke to the sound of silence. As I rolled out of bed, like every other day since my retirement, I got to play the game of what odd thing was going to ache for no reason today. That morning, it was a new, inexplicable crick in my neck. It's an adventure growing old.
The orange and yellow bands of the gas giant became more distinct as the shuttle approached Sedona Two. Unlike the other passengers, Devon preferred watching the flight visuals instead of the entertainment feed on the screen before him. So he was ready when the zero-gravity chime sounded, before the engines cut off for flip-over.
fluffy clouds
New York Times headline: July 19 2023. Judge clarifies: Yes Trump was found to have raped E.Jean Carroll.
2. AI models struggle to tell the difference between knowledge and belief. In a new accuracy benchmark, hallucination rates across 26 top models range from 22% to 94%. GPT-4o's accuracy dropped from 98.2% to 64.4%, and DeepSeek R1 fell from over 90% to 14.4%. When a false statement is presented as something another person believes, models handle it well. When the same false statement is presented as something a user believes, performance collapses.
Dressed in jeans and a pale blue work shirt, he combed his thinning white hair in front of the mirror. The pale shade of red at his temples was a stark reminder of the passing years. Sandy, his personal AI, tickled the communication stud behind his right ear.
side shot of the Stargate from the TV show making a wormhole connection and the explosive plume.
Scott Bakula as Captain Archer on the TV Show Star Trek: Enterprise. With his dog.
A bookstore with empty chairs set up for a book signing.
1988 Sylvania color TV console with 25 inch picture tube. The image on the screen is a very young William Shatner.
A London bus shelter billboard that featuring a tesla car with Musk and the felon president standing next to it. The text reads: Tesla The Swasticar. Now with White Power Steering.
Tab of my Weather App showing the temperature as 62° F on July 6th
A .ttab of my weather app showing the temperature for July 3rd as 95° F
A tab from my weather app showing the temperature as 94° F
Two images: one labeled "firefly" with a picture of the sci-fi Firefly-class spaceship from the TV Show Firefly. The other is labeled Lightning bug, which, in some parts of the nation, are called fireflies.
image from a weather app showing the temperature at 91° F
Text from the 14th amendment of the US constitution: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
With the morning light streaming through the rippling curtains, Devon sat on the edge of the bed, his head lowered, contemplating the unrelenting weight of gravity and time. As he stretched his back before attempting to rise, his noisy old bones popped and creaked like the antique comfort chair in the living room did each evening when he sat to read. Satisfied he could, he placed both hands on the bed and levered himself to his feet. After taking a moment to ensure his balance, he shuffled to the bathroom to attend to his morning ablutions.
Photo of a 26 year old HP 1200 laser printer purchased in 1999 and used in my business. The plastic case has yellowed and the clear plastic cover is cloudy from age and use. It's last printed page was a printout of a spreadsheet of my electric costs and usage for the past five years.
One afternoon in the east building of the National Gallery, I sat for hours across from Jackson Pollock's Lavender Mist, or as the sign read, Number 1, 1950. Lucky snoozed curled beside me after tiring of chasing shadows. The painting stretched the height of the wall and, at first glance, appeared to be random squiggles on canvas. After a while, it made sense to me. Maybe that was how he saw the world. As lines and spatters connecting everyone and everything like neurons in the brain. Or maybe he had a grander perspective and envisioned the universe, and we were represented by the faded handprint or the tiny dot in the corner of the canvas. Whatever it meant, it moved me and drew me in, renewing my faith in humanity. No other creature on the face of the earth shared feelings and emotions by controlling the splatter of paint on a canvas stretched out on the floor.
A minecraft settlement with a farm, chickens, cows, sheep and an expanded NPC settlement in the distance.
MEME a hunched old person with a walking stick in dark profile against a cloudy umber sky with a dark ground. The Caption reads: Existence can be fucked up
A poster on a UK bus shelter with a photo of Elon Musk and the caption: The definition of evil is being a trillionaire in a world where millions of children are starving.
A poster on a UK bus shelter with a photo of Elon Musk and the caption: The definition of evil is being a trillionaire in a world where millions of children are starving.
A question for Google: how many days of the week contain lion AI Overview Two days of the week contain the letters l-i-o-n: Saturday Monday If you are looking for more fun wordplay or riddles, let me know what kind you want to try next!
screenshot of google answer to the question of "how many days of the week have a fish in them" The answer is two: Tuesday and Friday
A tabby and white cat splayed out in a suggestive (not) manner looking back at the camera.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me. Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), Lutheran minister and early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned for opposing Hitler's regime
Bluesky Header for: Dennis M Powers @dennismpowers.bsky.social
A red sandy sky with a hiker/old person standing in an open field in outline profile hunched over with a walking stick. The caption reads: Existence can be Fucked up
Someone to Watch Over Me movie poster. Tom Berenger and Mimi Rogers directed by Ridley Scott.
Cover of Ace Books - The Winds of Gath by E. C. Tubb
Movie Poster from the movie Contact starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey
B&W photo of Bill Bixby and Ray Walston from the My Favorite Martian TV show broadcast in the early 1960's
Rainbow colored pride flag.
Cover of Perseid Prophecies Magazine featuring an illustration of a spacesuited person observing a Mars crawler on a deep-red rocky landscape. Astronauts walking on Mars during a dust storm (1989) illustrated by NASA/Paul DiMare. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.
A modified Truth social post made by the felon president claiming that he passed 3 cognitive tests when previous 2 presidents passed 0. It now says the truth. That his doctors required him to take three tests.
Cover of Amazing Spider-Man #40 published in 1966 Spiderman stand over the green goblin on the floor with fire in the background after a fight. SPIDEY SAVES THE DAY! FEATURING: THE END OF THE GREEN GOBLIN! Pete is trapped by Norman Osborn who’s revealed himself to be the Green Goblin.
Photo of a pink Rhododendron blooming for the first time in over six years at the end of my driveway. A small bee is seen hovering above the one on the left.
A Venn diagram labeled "how I spend my time" with two circles that overlap just a bit. One circle is green and labed "Things I should do" then other is purple and labeled "Things I actually do" the small overlap is labeled "Eat, Sleep"
If conservatives become convinced they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.
A billboard sign that reads "Your president is still out on bail" with a picture of the felon in chief.
The pain game was afoot. Not only was my shoulder still throbbing from trying to push the car the other day, but the crick in my neck metamorphosed into a full-blown ache that hurt when I turned my head. It took me three tries to get off the couch, and once I did, I hobbled into the kitchen to take my cadre of medications. A calcium channel blocker, an ACE inhibitor, and a vasodilator to control my blood pressure. And of course, a high-dose statin for lowering my cholesterol to prevent another blood clot. I was thankful to be off the blood thinner. Ten years of monthly blood tests to verify the correct dosage cost me a small fortune and formed a junkie-like puncture scar from repeated blood draws. I took an extra aspirin and a non-NSAID over-the-counter pain reliever. I needed all the help I could get.
Robby the robot from the Forbidden Planet movie.
Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Acoustic Modem
After breakfast, I sat on the stairs of the motor home, drinking my coffee. The highway was visible across the parking lot, and the faint odor of spilled diesel wafted from the sun-baked asphalt. We were miles from our destination, with so far to go, and traveling wasn't getting any easier. I needed a change. "You know what?" Lucky looked up from her bowl of tuna. "It may be crazy, but we're taking a detour. What do you think?" I'd already lost Lucky's attention. She was playing with her food. I'd been on the road for nearly a month and not even halfway to my brother's. Everywhere we went, death surrounded us. I wanted to see something beautiful, something inspiring. Something to remind me that good existed, that humanity had value. "We're going to Washington, DC."
Purple Album cover for Jimi Hendrix Experience
Orange tabby kitten with blue eyes sitting in a ceramic pot with one paw over its face.
Movie Poster for The French Connection Starring Gene Hackman
Sign for a General Strike on May 1, 2026 No Work, No School, No Shopping.
A photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the caption: "We all to often have socialism for the rich and rugged fre market capitalism for the poor."
Cartoon of cars on a highway approaching an off ramp. The overhead signs are "Can't look away" with an arrow pointing to continue and "Had Enough" with an arrow pointing at the off ramp.
Harry Sisson. @harryjsisson ·1h X Trump had another mental health episode and spiraled out of control on social media last night: 12:18am - Demands Chuck Schumer resign 12:19am - Posts a tweet saying Obama tried to "overthrow the government in 2016." 12:22am - Reposts a statement from Sen. Mike Lee calling for the filibuster to be removed 12:27am - Posts a conspiracy video alleging Obama and Hillary Clinton committed treason 12:27am - Posts a tweet from a MAGA account calling for Obama and Clinton to be arrested for treason 12:28am - Another post calling for treason charges against Obama and Clinton 12:28am - Yet another post demanding treason charges for Obama and Clinton 12:29am - Posts an AI image of a man holding a sign 1:13am - Demands the 2020 election be "wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect." 2:43am - Posts about Clint Eastwood complimenting him 2:44am - Posts about Elon Musk calling the Southern Poverty Law Center a "scam" 2:45am - Posts about a far-right podcast This man is not well. He is a demented lunatic who is spiraling out of control. He must be impeached and removed from office.
Merriam-Webster‬ ‪@merriam-webster.com‬ Wait, why does Oxford get one? We want a comma. ‪James Longhurst‬ ‪@jameslonghurst.bsky.social‬ best I can do is the Merriam-Webster interrobang. Merriam-Webster ‪@merriam-webster.com‬ Take us to dinner first.