New main home for this blog

/ John Bartels / Leave a comment

I am moving. You can find me at Substack. Just click here. for future blogs although I shall occasionally still use WordPress.

I would like to place on record my thanks to WordPress. It is a wonderful user-friendly and smart program. My WordPress blog with its posts will remain online should you wish to see previous posts.

To all my WordPress followers: Thank you.

John Bartels

Boiling Eggs in an air fryer

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Photo by Klaus Nielsen on Pexels.com

Here is what ChatGPT says: Using an air fryer to boil eggs is a great method that can produce consistent results. Here are some tips to help you get perfectly cooked eggs using your air fryer:

  1. Temperature and Timing: Set your air fryer to 270°F (132°C). For soft-boiled eggs, cook for about 9-10 minutes. For medium-boiled eggs, 12 minutes works well, and for hard-boiled eggs, aim for around 15 minutes.
  2. No Water Needed: Unlike traditional boiling, you do not need to add water to the air fryer. The eggs cook through the circulating hot air.
  3. Preparation: Place the eggs in the air fryer basket. You don’t need to use a rack unless you are cooking a large batch and need to stack the eggs. If stacking, ensure there is space between the eggs for air circulation.
  4. Cooking in Batches: If you’re cooking more than one egg, make sure not to overcrowd the basket. This allows the hot air to circulate evenly around each egg.
  5. Cooling Down: Once the eggs are done, place them in a bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes. This stops the cooking process and makes peeling easier.
  6. Peeling: Tap the eggs gently to crack the shell and peel under running water. The water helps to slip off the shell smoothly.

These tips should help you achieve perfectly “boiled” eggs in your air fryer. Adjust the cooking times slightly based on your specific air fryer model and the number of eggs you are cooking.

The Golden Gate: Three interesting facts according to ChatGPT

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Photo by zoe pappas on Pexels.com

The Golden Gate Bridge, an iconic symbol of San Francisco, is steeped in history and has many intriguing aspects. Here are three lesser-known facts about this famous structure:

  1. Original Color Was Almost Black and Yellow: The U.S. Navy originally proposed that the bridge be painted with black and yellow stripes to ensure visibility for passing ships in the foggy San Francisco Bay. However, Irving Morrow, the bridge’s consulting architect, advocated for the warm International Orange color because it blended well with the bridge’s natural surroundings and enhanced its visibility in fog.
  2. A Movable Safety Net Saved Lives: During construction, a safety net was suspended under the floor of the bridge to protect workers. This net proved to be a life-saving measure, saving the lives of 19 men, who became known as the “Half-Way-to-Hell Club.” Tragically, near the end of construction in 1937, the net gave way under the weight of a scaffold that had fallen, resulting in the deaths of ten workers.
  3. Annual Suicide Prevention Efforts: The Golden Gate Bridge has unfortunately been a site where many have chosen to end their lives. Recognizing the need to address this, the bridge authorities have implemented multiple measures over the years, including crisis counseling and higher railings. The most significant recent addition is the installation of a stainless steel net extending 20 feet below and 20 feet from the sides of the span, designed to deter such actions and save lives.

These facts highlight not only the engineering and aesthetic considerations of the Golden Gate Bridge but also the ongoing efforts to enhance its safety and the well-being of the community.

Landscape Photography: Three Top Tips

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Here is what ChatGPT says:

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com


Landscape photography can be deeply rewarding, allowing you to capture the grandeur and beauty of the natural world. Here are three top tips to help you enhance your landscape photographs:

  1. Golden Hour Shooting: One of the most effective times to capture landscapes is during the golden hour—the period shortly after sunrise or before sunset. During these times, the light is softer and warmer, providing your photos with a natural, glowing quality. This light can add depth and texture to your landscapes, highlighting features with long shadows and rich colors.
  2. Composition and Perspective: Pay attention to the composition of your shots to guide the viewer’s eye through the scene. Use techniques like the rule of thirds to place interesting elements at the intersections or along the lines of your frame. Consider also using leading lines—such as roads, rivers, or paths—to draw the eye into the photo. Experimenting with different perspectives can also yield stunning results; try taking shots from a higher elevation or getting close to the ground to alter the apparent scale of elements within the frame.
  3. Use of Filters: Incorporating filters can significantly impact the quality and mood of your landscape photos. A polarizing filter can help enhance the colors by reducing reflections and deepening the blue of the sky. Graduated neutral density filters are particularly useful for balancing the exposure between a bright sky and a darker land or water surface.

By focusing on the best lighting conditions, refining your composition, and using filters to manage and enhance natural lighting, you can elevate your landscape photography to capture compelling and breathtaking images.

What is AI? Ask ChatGPT

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AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is like a smart robot brain that helps computers do things that usually only humans can do, such as understanding what people say, making choices, translating languages, and recognizing objects in pictures.

Imagine AI as a big tree with many branches. Two important branches are called machine learning and deep learning. Machine learning is when computers learn from lots of information to make decisions without being directly told what to do for every single step. Deep learning is a special type of machine learning that works a bit like our brain, with lots of layers that help it learn really complex stuff.

AI can do simple things like play games with you or very complicated things like driving cars without a person. But even though it’s called “intelligence,” AI doesn’t actually think or feel emotions like we do. It follows instructions from its programming and the information it’s been given to learn from.

AI is super cool because it can help make things better and easier in many parts of life, like helping doctors with medicine, making learning more fun, managing money, or creating new video games.

All credit to ChatGPT

Why feedback is essential

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Feedback is an essential element in any journey or process. Without it, reaching a destination or achieving a goal is nearly impossible, as feedback is the catalyst for necessary adjustments along the way.

Take, for example, the journey of an aircraft from New York to San Francisco. The aircraft rarely, if ever, follows a straight path. Instead, it constantly adjusts, zigzagging across the country. These deviations are responses to the continuous feedback the pilots receive from their instruments, ensuring the aircraft remains on course.

This principle of constant adjustment is critical to the completion of any task, simple or complex. The key lies in setting a clear goal. Once the destination is defined, a reliable feedback system must be in place to monitor progress. This system acts as a compass, guiding you through the twists and turns of your endeavor. With a destination in sight and a steadfast feedback mechanism, the path to success, while not always straight, becomes navigable.

Original article enhanced by AI

Using particulars in informal arguments

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In my opinion, there are two main ways you can bring in examples when you’re making a point.

The not-so-good way is to first throw out your big idea or rule and then pile on a bunch of examples to back it up. This can make things confusing or overwhelming because it’s a lot to take in all at once.

The better way to do it is to lay out your main idea clearly first. Then, you can add, “There’s a lot of proof that supports what I’m saying. If you’re curious, I can show you the specifics.” This method is better because it sparks interest and lets the person choose to dive deeper into the topic, making the conversation more interactive and engaging.

Original article AI enhanced