Today is my 15th Twitterversary – even if it’s no longer called Twitter. It all started with a simple tweet: https://twitter.com/teamsiems/status/964384591 Now I have more than 8,600 tweets.
Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza
On October 7, 2023, at 6:30 AM local time, Hamas militants stormed the blockaded border of the Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing and kidnapping hundreds of Israelis.
The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, Israeli raids inside West Bank cities over the past year, violence at Al Aqsa — the disputed Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews as the Temple Mount — increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinians and the growth of settlements.
“Enough is enough,” Deif, who does not appear in public, said in the recorded message. He said the attack was only the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” and called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight.
Source: APNews.com
This attack came 50 years (and 1 day) after the Yom Kippur war. Then an Arab military coalition of Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on October 6, 1973.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Impeached
The Texas House adopted 20 articles of impeachment in May 2023. Paxton was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the trial.
Paxton’s impeachment trial began on September 5, 2023. In this trial he faces 16 articles of impeachment that accuse him of helping his friend (and donor) Nate Paul, a real estate investor, who was under federal investigation; the Senate suspended 4 or the original articles.
Update 9/16/2023
BREAKING: The Texas Senate has acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of 16 articles of impeachment, clearing him of the corruption and bribery charges levied by the House.
Source: @TexasTribune
Former President Trump Indicted For 4th Time
Former President Donald Trump and 18 others were indicted on August 14 on charges related to 2020 election subversion in the state of Georgia.
Continue readingFormer President Trump Indicted For 3rd Time
In yet another indictment, Former President Donald Trump was charged on August 1, 2023, with 1 count, conspiracy to defraud the United States, 2 counts related to efforts to obstruct the vote certification proceedings, and 1 count conspiracy to violate civil rights.
Continue readingFormer President Trump Indicted, Again
This time he has been indicted on 37 counts in the classified documents probe. This marks the first time a former president has faced federal charges.
Former president Donald Trump has been criminally charged in connection with the discovery that hundreds of classified documents were taken to his Mar-a-Lago home after he left the White House — and more than 100 remained there even after officials issued a subpoena demanding their return.
Source: Washington Post
The FBI searched Trump’s Florida resort last August and found the documents; many labeled classified, some labeled top secret. After that search, President Joe Biden’s former office was searched, and documents were found. Then former Vice President Mike Pence’s house was searched, and documents were found.
UPDATE 6/13/2023
Trump was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges in a court in Miami.

The 2023 Hurricane Season
The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) [via Colorado Statue University (CSU) meterologist Philip Klotzbach] predicted that El Nino will peak to the middle of summer/hurricane season. Apparently this will negatively impact this year’s hurricane season. In their annual tweet CSU predicted a slightly below-normal hurricane season with 13 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 major hurricanes.
Continue reading
Memorial Day Ribs 2023
Hey kids! What time is it? (No, it’s not Howdy Doody time.) It’s time to make our one-of-kind, world famous, finger-licking-good, Memorial Day Memphis Style Ribs! This year I got started late. I didn’t think about ribs until the weekend before Memorial day. Anyway, this month the US officially ended our corona virus emergency, and I’m hoping to finish the ribs on the grill; weather permitting. I haven’t lit the grill since the summer of 2020.
Continue readingI used AI to generate a poem, this is what I got
I’m not the first to test multiple AI search (text) engines.
Microsoft, which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, soon followed with Bing Chat, which uses ChatGPT technology. And then, last week, Google began letting a limited number of people access Google Bard, which is based on Google’s own technology, LaMDA, short for Language Model for Dialogue Applications.
Source: WIRED
My premise was “write a poem about an elemental elephant with a titanium trunk guarding a blessing of unicorns.”
ChatGPT came back with…
In lands where magic whispers, a tale unfolds, Of an elemental elephant, mighty and bold. With a titanium trunk, gleaming and grand, Guarding a blessing, a mythical band.
A guardian of wonders, both gentle and strong,
This majestic creature, where legends belong.
Born of ancient forces, earth, fire, and air,
An embodiment of nature, beyond compare.
With steps like thunder, it roams the terrain,
A gentle giant, with a heart untamed.
In its presence, harmony finds its home,
A sanctuary where unicorns freely roam.
Its trunk, crafted of titanium's might,
An enchanted conduit, a beacon of light.
It weaves through the realms, a bridge to unite,
Elements and creatures, both day and night.
With eyes like diamonds, reflecting pure grace,
It gazes upon the unicorns in this sacred place.
Their silvery manes shimmer with ethereal glow,
A blessing of enchantment, for all to know.
As the sun sets, painting skies with gold,
The elephant stands tall, resolute and bold.
Guiding the unicorns through shadows and strife,
Protecting their essence, the essence of life.
Through forests and meadows, they journey afar,
Under the watchful eye of the elephant star.
Together, they dance, a celestial display,
A symphony of magic, as night turns to day.
In the heart of this realm, where dreams come alive,
The elemental elephant and unicorns thrive.
A testament to wonder, a tale to be told,
Of a guardian so noble, with a heart of pure gold.
Bing Chat came back with…
An elemental elephant with titanium trunk,
Guarding a blessing of unicorns,
The elephant's eyes are bright and clear,
And its skin is tough as iron.
The unicorns are pure and white,
With manes that shimmer in the light,
They dance and play around the beast,
And never stray too far from its feet.
The elephant stands tall and proud,
Its trunk a weapon, strong and loud,
It guards the unicorns with all its might,
And keeps them safe both day and night.
So if you ever see this sight,
An elemental elephant with titanium trunk,
Guarding a blessing of unicorns,
You'll know that everything is right.
Google Bard came back with…
Sure, here is a poem about an elemental elephant with a titanium trunk guarding a blessing of unicorns:
The Elemental Elephant
With a trunk of titanium and eyes of fire, The elemental elephant stands guard. He protects the blessing of unicorns, Whose magic is pure and their hearts are kind.
The unicorns are gentle and wise, And their horns can grant any wish. But they are also very vulnerable, And the elemental elephant knows this.
That is why he guards them so fiercely, With his strength and his courage and his might. He will never let anything harm them, Not while he still has breath to fight.
The elemental elephant is a symbol of hope, And a reminder that good always triumphs over evil. He is a guardian of the innocent, And a defender of the weak.
He is the elemental elephant, And he will never give up.
So, they are what they are. People claim AI chat bots can make them money, write code for them, write news stories for them, etc… But, I think they look and behave like an amalgamation of complete sentence results of just another search engine.