Five Things

In solidarity with federal workers, I started listing 5 things I did last week every Monday. I don't know if they still have to do that, but I have kept it up since it's a quick way to get something on the blog for Monday. Since I don't have a regular job, it's a fairly mundane list.

1. Celebrated my husband's birthday.

2. Made lunch for my husband every day while he was cutting, raking, and baling hay.

3. Baked my husband a cake for his birthday.

4. Laundry, house cleaning, other chores.

5. Internet research

Sunday Stealing

10 Questions with Nigel

1. What's your life's motto?

A. "Do no harm" and "Not all who wander are lost."

2. Where were you living 13 years ago?

A. In the same place I am living now.

3. Is anyone jealous of you?

A. Probably.

4. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 terror attacks?

A. I was working at a law office in the county seat. The lawyer came in and said a plane had hit the Twin Towers. We turned on a small television and were watching when the second plane hit. Then we heard about the Pentagon being hit. Then the towers collapsed, and the lawyer closed the office and sent everyone home.

5. Do you consider yourself kind?

A. I try very hard to be kind. I am human so I am not always successful.

6. Can you change your car's oil?

A. I could if I had to. But fortunately, there are people I can pay to do that.

7. What's the last thing you heard about your first love?

A. My "boyfriend" from elementary school passed away some months ago. I'm not sure if one would consider him a first love or not.

8. Have you ever been burned by love?

A. Who hasn't?

9. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?

A. I bought a hanging flower basket.

10. Do you hug your friends?

A. Yes. I think hugs are terrific.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

P.S. Today is my birthday.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Hold On

Saturday 9: Hold On (1990)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. 
 
1) This song gives encouragement to someone who is enduring heartache. Have you more recently given support, or received it?

A. I have both given and received support lately.
 
2) "Hold On" is featured prominently in the 2011 movie Bridesmaids. It's an anthem for the friends in the film and they love to sing it together. Is there a song that reminds you of good times with a good friend?

A. No, but one of my favorite memories involves the time my husband and I were shopping at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC, and the Macarena song came on over the loudspeakers. Nearly everyone stopped what they were doing and did the Macarena. I loved it. It felt like I was in a musical.
 
3) The video for this song finds Wilson Phillips outdoors on a snowy mountainside and then on a sandy beach. What's the view outside your window?

A. I see trees of green, skies of blue, white puffy clouds, and a deer or two.

 
4) The mountain segments were filmed in California's San Gabriel Mountains. The girls were flown to the set by helicopter. Have you ever been in a helicopter?

A. I have never been in a helicopter.
 
5) The members of Wilson Phillips are authentic "California Girls." Wendy and Carnie Wilson's father is Brian Wilson, who wrote the Beach Boys hit. Chynna Phillips is the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, who sang "California Dreamin'." Have you been to California? If yes, where did you visit?

A. I went to California when I was 12 years old on a trip with my family. We went to visit relatives in San Francisco and possibly other areas, but I don't remember all that much about it now.
 
6) Another generation of the Wilson family has entered the music business. Carnie's daughter/Brian Wilson's granddaughter, Lola Bonfiglio, participated in the current season of American Idol. Has a family member followed you in your chosen profession?

A. No.
 
7) In 1990, when this song was popular, satellite radio was in its infancy and streaming was unheard of. Our cars gave us a choice of AM/FM and maybe CD player/tape deck. When you're driving and a favorite song comes on, are you more likely to sing along if you're alone? Or don't you care if anyone hears you?

A. I sing along in the grocery store, in the car, wherever I am. I do not care. 
 
8) Also in 1990, actor Alan Hale Jr. died. He was "the skipper" on Gilligan's Island. Without looking it up, can you name the other six castaways? (If not the actors, then their characters.)

A. The Skipper (whose first name was Jonas), Gilligan, Mr. Thurston Howell, III and his wife, Lovey, Mary Ann, Ginger Grant, The Professor. That's all seven, but I don't know the actors' names.
 
9) Random question: What superhero would you like to have as your best friend?

A. Supergirl, aka Kara Danvers. I really liked the CW version of that series when it was on.

  _______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

Today, it's all about those memes . . . 

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 910th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Beater or Bird Flu?

AI Image

When I was very young, my grandmother kept me a lot because my mother worked a full-time job.

One of the things my grandmother did was bake.

She made cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. She had two grandchildren and two young children of her own at home to spoil, so the oven was often in service.

I loved it when she cooked. Not that I helped - I hate to cook - but when she finished with the mixing, I was on it.

I wanted a mixer beater to lick. I loved the taste of cookie dough, cake dough, or brownie dough.

No one cared then if the eggs were uncooked. The four of us sometimes fought over who received what - the bowl generally was fairly clean as my grandmother took care not to waste the batter. But the beaters? They were the prize.

With four of us, the split was a beater, a beater, a spoon, or the bowl.

After I finished mixing the batter for my husband's birthday cake, I licked the beaters, just like I did when I was a kid. Just as I have done for as long as I can remember.

But this time, I wondered if it was safe.

That notice on mixes about "do not eat raw dough" was one of those dictums that I studiously have avoided.

But now we have bird flu. As I ate the raw dough, I wondered how bird flu is transmitted.

A quick internet search indicates that bird flu, or avian influenza, can be present in eggs laid by infected birds. However, the risk of transmission to humans through consumption is extremely low if the eggs are cooked. But it's generally low anyway, as the virus is rarely found inside eggs. So maybe raw is still okay.

That got me thinking about what the government is doing or not doing about bird flu under the current administration. Turns out, they've canceled funding for a vaccine for bird flu. 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated a $766 million contract with Moderna, which was working on an mRNA-based vaccine for the H5 avian influenza virus.

The decision to cancel the vaccine was made under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who I dislike and consider to be ill equipped for the position he is holding, and who has expressed skepticism about mRNA vaccines. 

He's a tinfoil hat guy and should not be in charge of anything to do with health.

I will still eat raw dough. I've come this far doing it. Too late to change that now.

Besides, it tastes so good!

Sources:
enviroliteracy.org
www.fda.gov
www.usatoday.com
MedCity News
Food Safety News
Biospace
www.cbsnews.com

*This blog post was written by a human, but the research went through an AI tool because it seems they all do that now.*

From Firefighter to Farmer: A Birthday Tribute

My guy

It’s a big day today!

My husband celebrates another year around the sun. Let me tell you a little bit about my guy.

He retired from the city fire department, where he was a Battalion Chief, in 2020, after 36 years of service to the community.

But that has never been his only job. He’s a life-long farmer who tends cattle on land that has been in his family since 1859. He is also a septic tank installer, one of the few locally licensed for alternative systems. He’s a guy who never lets the grass grow tall beneath his feet - especially at haymaking time.

Farming is my husband’s passion. He enjoys the work because he finds it challenging. Farming gives him the ability to be his own boss and work at his own pace. He loves to see the results of his hard work.

His grandfather and father worked together on the farm, and when my husband was old enough, he joined them. His grandfather passed away in 1983, leaving the farm to his wife, and my husband’s father took over management. When his father died in 2010, my beloved became the next in the long line of family men to take over the farm.

In 2014, my husband received the Clean Water Farm, Conservation Farmer of the Year Award from the Virginia Department of Soil and Water Conservation for a water project and best management practices that he implemented on the farm.

His work as a septic tank installer is also a legacy operation. His father installed septic tanks for a living and was still working when he passed away at the age of 74. My husband began working for his father as soon as he was old enough to be of help and then worked for him full time when he finished high school.

After his father passed away, my husband purchased the septic tank installation business and kept it going.

When he was with the fire department, my husband rose up through the ranks to become a Battalion Chief in 2009. He was in charge of five stations and about 35 firefighters. He was a certified emergency medical technician and chair of the fire department's apparatus committee, which designs new fire engines and ladder trucks.

His biggest fire occurred in the late 1980s, when the TAP building burned down. "It was a cold, long day and a big building with a lot of fire inside," my husband recalled. "The conditions were too dangerous to fight from the interior of the building." At that time, he was a lieutenant with the fire department. 

The flood of 1985 "was the hardest non-fire event we've had," my husband said. He was a firefighter at the time, and his entire department was in mourning because a captain and a firefighter had been killed by a drunk driver during a wreck call a few days before. 

"We were busy constantly getting people out of the water, and we had a few fires," my husband said of that terrible flood. "We couldn't get around town, and people were stranded. Parts of the city were cut off from other parts on account of the water. Our company rescued three people that day on our side of town. We helped get a woman out of the creek where they built the Food Lion Grocery at the intersection of Hollins and Plantation. We rescued her from her car. We used the aerial ladder. We were on one side of the stream and Roanoke County was on the other, and we stretched a rope over and got a boat and brought her to safety."

Now that he has retired from the fire department, he devotes most of his time to farming. He wants to keep the operation going as long as he can.

Today he is mowing hay, doing what makes him happy.

Happy birthday to my best friend and my only love!

(*Written in its entirety by a human*)

Five Things

In solidarity with federal workers, I started listing 5 things I did last week every Monday. I don't know if they still have to do that, but I have kept it up since it's a quick way to get something on the blog for Monday. Since I don't have a regular job, it's a fairly mundane list.

1. Went to Christiansburg to pick up a vehicle for a friend.

2. Hosted a light lunch with watermelon for Memorial Day.

3. Went to the grocery store twice.

4. Gassed up the car.

5. Worked on bookkeeping for the farm.

Sunday Stealing

This week we're stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008, she admitted she stole these questions from a blogging buddy named Liz. Here we don't judge. We celebrate such theft.

Questions Christina Stole from Liz

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?

A. The light bill is not my favorite. We seem to use an excessive amount of electricity for a small home. I'm sure part of the problem is the two air purifiers we run, but when it's either pay for the electricity or pay for the doctor because of my asthma, then I suppose we've chosen the best path for us.

2. Which restaurant would you recommend for a romantic dinner?

A. We only have one nice restaurant in the city. It's called Coach and Four. It's been around a long time; it's where my husband proposed to me.

3. Who was your first-grade teacher?

A. My first-grade teacher was Mrs. Zirkle. I found her to be very mean and quite harsh, and I frequently went home from school and cried. 

4. What should you be doing right now?

A. I probably should be working on making dinner instead of answering these questions, but dinner will keep.

5. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A. I wanted to be many things when I was growing up: an archeologist, a geologist, an astronaut, a college professor.

6. How did you choose the shirt you're wearing right now?

A. It was hanging in the closet and wasn't a t-shirt.

7. Gas prices! What's your first thought?

A. They are what they are. I have no control over them.

8. Do you have a teddy bear?

A. I do not have a teddy bear.

9. Do you own the last book you read, or did you get it from the library?

A. The last book I read came from the library. I try to get most of my books from the library these days.

10. Did you more recently send a text or write a Post It?

A. I sent a text.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Too Shy

Saturday 9: Too Shy (1983)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song laments vulnerability and self-consciousness in a social setting. Are you often "too shy?" Or are social gatherings easy for you?

A. I am quite introverted and generally do not do well in gatherings. That is why being a news reporter was a great job for me. I could be in the room, but not a participant. I could talk to people to ask questions but not worry about small talk.

 

2) In the lyrics, a girl self-censors, telling herself, "Hush hush." Have you more recently shushed someone, or were you shushed?

A. I was hushed.

 

3) Band member Nick Beggs recalls that they called themselves Kajagoogoo because it sounded like something that would make a baby laugh. It is fun to say. Can you think of another word that you just enjoy saying?

A. Serendipity. I have always liked the sound of that word.

 

4) This was the only US hit for the British band, earning Kajagoogoo the title "One Hit Wonder." Can you think of another artist or band who had one really popular song and then just kind of disappeared?

A. Looking Glass, the band that sang Brandy (You're a Fine Girl). 

 

5) Though fame was fleeting here, Kajagoogoo remained popular in England. Lead singer Limahl recalls the adulation as "overwhelming," and he was shocked when he stepped on stage in Cornwall to see row after row of fans wearing their hair like he did. Have you ever handed a photo to a stylist and said, "Make my hair look like this?"

A. I have never handed a hairstylist a photo that I can recall, although when I was younger, I asked for a Farrah Fawcett cut. That needed no photo.

 

6) In 1983, when this song was popular, the Lotus 1-2-3 program made it easier for PC users to make spreadsheets. Are you answering these questions on a Mac or PC? Laptop, phone or tablet?

A. I am answering these questions on a PC desktop.

7) 1983 saw Abbey Road Studios open their doors for the first time for public tours. During the first two months, 22,000 tickets were sold to fans who wanted to see where the Beatles made their magic. What's the last ticket you purchased?

A. The last ticket I purchased was a ticket to a Melissa Etheridge concert that was cancelled because of the 2020 pandemic.

 

8) Also in 1983, McDonald's introduced Chicken McNuggets. When was chicken most recently on the menu at your home? How was it prepared?

A. We had chicken last night. It was roasted. We had home-grown kale with it.

 

9) Random question: Have you ever forgotten where you left your car in a parking lot?

A. Not that I recall.

 _______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

The Long Way Home

It was to be a simple task: drive my husband to Christiansburg, about 45 miles away, to retrieve the new vehicle a friend had purchased the day before.

It's about an hour's drive, unless you're with me, the one with the lead foot and the propensity to "go with the flow" of the other 80 mph drivers. Then you get there much quicker.

However, we were on Interstate 81, which is like driving through a mini-golf course complete with windmills, potholes, and other intriguing traps. Weaving in and out of traffic, I tried not to pay attention to my husband's grip on the overhead handle on the passenger door and his occasional mutterings about speeding.

I-81 is notorious for its hazards. It's one of the most dangerous highways in the state. The highway is two lanes each way, and it now has many times more traffic than it was originally designed to carry. In particular, tractor-trailers travel this road in great numbers. Since the highway has fairly steep grades that the big rigs can't take at speed, traffic frequently slows to a crawl, with backups as long as 3 miles or more not at all unusual.

Fortunately, the southbound lane I was racing down was not all that crowded, but the northbound lane, where I would need to return, was backed up for miles. A tractor trailer on its side had turned the highway into a parking lot.

We discussed a different route for the return trip home with my husband's friend's new car. We decided to go US 460, a much less traveled route.

After we picked up the vehicle, I followed my husband down the highway. I like driving US 460, it's a good road and the traffic is light. However, as we reached other exits, the traffic picked up as folks trapped on I-81 began to siphon themselves off the interstate and onto the less frequented roads.

By the time we reached Salem, I was ready to get back on the interstate and get home. However, to my left, I could see a dark, vicious-looking cloud. My husband called me on the cell. "We're going to take the long way and try to miss that cloud. It might have hail in it," he said. "Follow me."

I knew he didn't want to ding up the new vehicle, and I didn't particularly want to mess mine up, either. But the cloud didn't look like a hail cloud to me. They usually have a little orange in them. But I am a good wife, so I obediently followed him. I thought at first we would get back on the interstate at Exit 140, but no.

Then I thought he was going to make a left turn off of US 460 business and head up Cove Road to Hershberger, but no.

The next thing I knew, we were driving by Roanoke City Fire Station 5. What were we doing in the heart of the city at 3:15 in the afternoon? I had no idea. I kept following him.

He turned left, finally, onto Plantation. I knew where that came out on US 11, but this seemed like a very long way home.

Then he turned right onto some other road that I have traveled only a few times.

And the rain poured.

It rained so hard I could not see him in front of me. I slowed way down because I didn't want to hit him. The water began ponding; cars coming from the other direction sent waves of water over top of my vehicle.

I clung to the steering wheel with both hands, thinking all the while, "We're heading toward Tinker Creek."

My mind leapt back 40 years to the Flood of 1985, when it took me over three hours to get home because of flash flooding and most of Roanoke was underwater, including the area we were driving through. I was on an unfamiliar road. I couldn't see. I couldn't tell what was in front of me. I didn't know where there might be a place to pull off and wait out the storm.

Finally, we neared the train tracks that I thought were coming up, and saw my husband make another right turn on Sanderson, only at the time I didn't realize it was Sanderson because it was raining so hard I couldn't see the sign. I called him. "I can't see to drive, where are we?"

"We're on Sanderson, we're near Jen's house."

"Do you have the lights on on that car? Because I can't see your rear end," I told him. He braked and I told him I could see that, but the lights for simply driving were quite dim. Since the car is silver, I was having a very difficult time seeing it.

It was a new car, so I assumed he just needed to find the right switch, and after a while he did. Then it was easier to see him. The rain also began letting up and I was able to release my death grip on the steering wheel. I was back on familiar turf.

That short task turned into quite the marathon, what with my husband's failed effort to keep the car clean and my fright at being on unfamiliar roads in such a downpour.

Next time it’s a “simple task,” I’m going home the simple way. Mine.

*This post was written in its entirety by a human, aside from spell check and normal things like that.*

Thursday Thirteen

Here are 13 weird laws in Virginia:

1. Single people cannot have sexual relations. According to this Virginia law, any person, not being married, who voluntarily shall have sexual intercourse with any other person, shall be guilty of fornication, punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor which is punishable by a fine of up to $250. (There are a lot of people who have committed this crime, I'm sure.)

2. Until 2004, it was illegal to work on Sundays. This old blue law (laws designed to restrict or ban some or all Sunday activities mostly for religious reasons) stated that “On the first day of the week, commonly known and designated as Sunday, no person shall engage in work, labor or business or employ others to engage in work, labor or business." That certainly didn't fit in with the loss of the blue laws, which happened in the 1980s. All the stores have been open on Sundays since the blue laws were eliminated. I remember when this happened.

4. Don’t use an X-Ray machine for shoe fitting. It’s unlawful for any person to use any X-ray, fluoroscope, or other equipment or apparatus employing roentgen rays, in the fitting of shoes or other footwear. This section shall not apply to any licensed physician nor surgeon in the practice of his profession. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 Misdemeanor which is punishable by a fine of up to $500. I have no clue why this is a thing.

5. You are not allowed to drive a golf cart on the highway. Virginia code 46.2-916.2 states that “No public highway shall be designated for use by golf carts and utility vehicles if such golf cart and utility vehicle operations will impede the safe and efficient flow of motor vehicle traffic.” This law, however, does not apply to state employees provided the golf cart or utility vehicle is being operated on highways with speed limits of no more than 35 miles per hour.

6. Being in possession of a radar gun is illegal. Virginia Code Section 46.2–1079 makes it illegal on the highways of the state to operate any device or mechanism, passive or active, that can detect or purposely interfere with the measurement and use of radar, LIDAR, or any other speed detection equipment used by law enforcement. Additionally, a person cannot sell them, and they cannot possess them.

7. No one is allowed to keep a skunk as a pet, at least not in Prince William County. There is also illegal to keep a raccoon, skunk, wolf, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx, or any other warm-blooded animal, poisonous snake or tarantula which can normally be found in the wild, as a pet.

8. Referring to any other brand of ham as "Smithfield" is against the law. Virginia takes its cured meats very seriously. Unless it's been smoked and processed within the Smithfield area, you could get fined for trying to label a generic ham as "Smithfield."

9. Certain walking sticks or canes are unlawful in Virginia Beach. I have no idea why or which ones.

10. Parking on railroad tracks is forbidden. One would hope this would be self-evident, but perhaps not.

11.  Washing a mule on the sidewalk in Culpeper is illegal. While it’s unclear why this law was originally enacted, it’s likely tied to historical concerns about sanitation or public obstruction

12. In Virginia, owning a pet skunk is illegal due to concerns about disease transmission, particularly rabies. The Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) strictly prohibits keeping skunks as pets without special permits or licenses. Skunks are considered wild animals, and their natural defense mechanism, which stinks terribly, can make them difficult to care for. Additionally, if someone is caught illegally possessing a skunk, they may face fines or even imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offense.

13. The state has several laws that regulate public displays of affection, including kissing on the lips in certain public places. While this law isn't widely enforced today, it was originally intended to maintain public decorum and prevent disturbances in areas with high foot traffic. Virginia has a history of morality-based laws, some of which still exist in the legal code. Many of these laws were enacted decades ago and remain technically valid, even if they are rarely applied in modern times.

Sources:

14 Weird Laws In Virginia That Are Sure To Baffle You

14 Surprising (But True) Laws You’ll Only Hear About in Virginia

The 8 Weirdest and Strangest Laws in Virginia (2025)

Code of Virginia Code - Article 5. Obscenity and Related Offenses

*This idea for this came about with the assistance of an AI tool and then the article was curated and written by a human.

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 909th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Early Morning Bear

I overslept this morning. I did not get up until about 7:15, which is late for me. After I put on my robe, I slipped into my office to turn on my computer. I also looked out the window, as I often do.

The day was gray and overcast, with rain. I could see the mist and drizzle, the water making the grass grow almost before my eyes. I also saw something large and black heading up the side of the hill toward the oak trees. At first, I thought it was a cow, since we are presently pasturing them near the house. But I quickly realized it was a black bear.

I called for my husband. "There's a bear!"

The animal was moving fast. This bear was not moseying. It was heading towards its destination with purpose.

The black fur stood in stark contrast to the green pasture. I was so busy admiring the animal, I did not grab a camera. This bear had no mange and obviously was healthy. It was also quite large, one of the biggest bears I've seen in a while.

It trudged swiftly up the hill and onto the knoll. For a moment, it sniffed around an oak, and I began to grab a camera, but it moved on and then disappeared out of sight into the woods.

Even a gray morning can shine when it begins with something wild and wonderful.

This was not the bear we saw this morning.
I took this picture of a bear in 2021.

*This post was written by me in its entirety.

Morality and AI

I have been playing around with chatGPT. There are many things it can do that work well - I have asked it for advice, for example, about specific incidents and it's given me options that I had not considered.

ChatGPT and I have also written poetry. I quickly figured out after two sessions of free verse that it has a formula for that. So free verse from chatGPT is going to look a lot alike after a while. Some of it makes sense, some not so much.

It can't do more evolved poetry forms, like sestinas or villanelles, with any real accuracy. It loses the syllables, doesn't always make sense, and sometimes just seems so out of whack that aside from using it for ideas for end rhymes, I can't see chatGPT being much use there.

It can take a plot outline and turn it into a story, but is the story then mine? I don't think so, not in a moral sense. I saved what it wrote but I put it in a file with the idea that one day I may take it back out and totally rewrite it. Then I started to wonder, well, what if there's a good line or two in the story that I leave? Is that ok?

My internal jury is still out on that one. I read an article the other day that said at the end something like, "This article was created by an AI tool and thoroughly reviewed by a human." I thought that the disclaimer was good.

I have used AI for images on my blog. I generally mark them as such, at least the first time. The logo I use for Saturday 9 was AI generated. I noted it the first time but not in subsequent uses.

I have also used AI for Thursday 13. Usually, I do this by asking for a list of 25 things on a specific topic, and then I choose the 13 I want and add information to it. I haven't been noting the use of AI on these, but I think in the future, I will put up a disclaimer.

What I would not do is what a friend of mine said she was doing. She is letting AI completely write her articles that she is then selling. I think personal use in a blog, especially one like mine that has no ads, is not a big deal, but if I am selling my work, then it needs to be my work. She is going so far as taping an interview, then putting the tape into a transcribing program, then taking the transcription and running it through AI to spit out an article.

In the first place, I would have never even thought to do that, and in the second place, I think that is not a moral way to use AI. She is representing this as her work when it is not. All she's doing is letting AI do the work and turning it in.

I have started reading articles about AI and morality because this is of great concern to me. This article was a good start.

How are teachers handling AI? I do not know as I am no longer in a classroom environment. I do know that the one time I played with chatGPT and asked it to write an article for me, it made up quotes, non-existent universities, etc., so I would never trust AI for something like that. 

And now, just for the heck of it, I'm going to ask chatGPT about the morality of using AI in an article I am selling. Let's see what it says:

From chatGPT:

The morality of using AI to write an article that you then sell as your own work depends on several factors, including transparency, context, intent, and any agreements or expectations involved. Here are the key ethical considerations:

1. Disclosure and Transparency

• Ethically Questionable: Claiming full authorship of something entirely written by AI without disclosing its role may be considered dishonest, especially if others (editors, clients, readers) expect human authorship.

• More Acceptable: If the use of AI is disclosed—either explicitly or implicitly (e.g., in a terms-of-service agreement or contributor note)—the ethical concerns are reduced.

2. Contractual and Legal Obligations

• If you're writing under contract or for a platform that expects original human-created work, using AI without disclosure may violate terms and be both unethical and legally problematic.

• Some publications, especially in journalism or academia, have strict rules about ghostwriting or non-human authorship.

3. Creative Integrity and Professional Identity

• Selling AI-generated work as your own might undermine your credibility if discovered—especially in fields where creativity, voice, and critical thinking are core values.

• If you're marketing yourself as a writer but letting AI do all the writing, there's a mismatch between claim and reality.

4. Value Provided

• If you significantly revise, guide, or curate the AI’s output (e.g., prompt engineering, structural editing, style tuning), you're still applying your skill and judgment—this is often viewed as collaboration rather than deception.

• If you're simply passing along raw AI content, it's harder to justify claiming authorship, particularly in moral or professional terms.

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Summary:

Using AI to help write or co-write is increasingly common and can be ethically sound if you:

• Add your own input or editing;

• Are honest when required by contract or context;

• Don't mislead others about the nature of the work.

However, presenting entirely AI-generated content as your own original human creation, especially for profit, without any disclosure, is ethically shaky—more so in contexts where human authorship is assumed or valued.

(No disclaimer because it's in the post that I used chatGPT.)

Five Things

 

In solidarity with federal workers, I started listing 5 things I did last week every Monday. I don't know if they still have to do that, but I have kept it up since it's a quick way to get something on the blog for Monday. Since I don't have a regular job, it's a fairly mundane list.

1. Visited the chiropractor.

2. Went to Walmart to complete the shopping list I was unable to finish last week when we shopped, and the power went out.

3. Finished up three books: (1) The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits, by Jennifer Weiner, (2) A Circle of Uncommon Witches, by Paige Crutcher, and (3) Like Mother, Like Mother, by Susan Reiger.

4. Walked on the treadmill, did laundry and other chores, yada yada.

5. Played the guitar, wrote a short story.

Sunday Stealing

These questions were inspired by a blogger named Becca. Back in 2007, Becca was asked to reveal 8 interesting things about herself. We're turning her answers into questions to learn a little more about YOU.

8 Questions

1. What habit do you wish you could break?

A. At the moment, I am trying to stop cursing. It is a difficult habit to break.

2. Where is your favorite vacation spot?

A. I'm not sure I have one anymore. I used to love Myrtle Beach, but it has changed so much that I no longer recognize it as the place I used to enjoy. I like Williamsburg but it's not somewhere I want to go all the time.

3. How many years of formal education have you completed?

A. I have completed my master's degree.

4. Have you ever had a job that required you be certified or licensed?

A. I have never had a job that had certification or licensing requirements.

5. Do you enjoy camping?

A. No. I like hotel rooms and room service.

6. Tell us about a time you got away with something.

A. When I was younger, my foot was much heavier on the gas pedal than it is now. Somehow, I never received a speeding ticket, though.

7. Where have you lived the longest, and what do/did you like best about it?

A. I have lived the longest in the house I am in now. I love it because it belongs to me and my husband, we built it ourselves with help from friends and family, and it is small.

8. When you were a kid, were more of your playmates boys or girls?

A. Most of my young playmates were boys. I had two young uncles and my brother as my companions most of the summer.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.