Troy

Please elaborate on what “more focused”means and how this was quantified.

English is already has too many exceptions. Even seasoned professional writers need a another professional to correct their writing. Most languages have a formal and colloquial expression which is fine. No need to rewrite rule book, ‘cause those rules will be eventually be broken too. Forget the the double negatives, but adding new words makes sense. i thought “Yo” was already a word. “Ain’t” should be a word. Everyone knows what it means, and many use it. Though i don’t remember what words it is supposed to be a contraction for.

where was this?

LOL, Yep! {pulling Del to the side and whispering in his ear, “man you know that knee grow will never expose the flaw in his argument by saying he ain’t letting his woman get banged by a bunch of miscellaneous dudes every night and have the money go to to his dad and not to him”}

@Delano clearly @Pioneer1 is cool with the women in his life being pimped out — so long as it was their choice. He may not like it but it is their decision he is the ultimate libertarian. 😉 @Stefan i found this thread funny too. 😀

Sorry to read NYC is slashing its budget, but it is probably a bit much to blame it on AOC. I'm not a fan of hers but that is mostly because she strikes me as a kid out of her depth, not an ideal representative for a district in NYC-- but the media loves her... I guess you can add fiscal woes and shitty weather for a couple more good reasons to run away from NYC 😉 Seriously, NYC is a city of immigrants -- always has been. If NYC can no longer assimilate those fleeing persecution and hardship we have really taken a turn for the worse.

Then there are the issues of having a job someplace else and needing a car, otherwise, there probably would be a mad rush. People fortunate enough to have an apartment in the projects are somewhat trapped. When I was a kid it was realistic to save some money and buy a house in "Blacklandia." For those of you familiar with NY City Blacklandia is what I call the "two-fare zone" bounded by the Van Wyck, Grand Central, Belt Parkway, and the Cross Island. It includes St. Albans, Jamaica, Cambria Heights, Springfield Gardens, etc). It was whitelanida originally but as soon as negros started moving in it quickly became Blacklandia. Today, housing is so expensive in NYC that it is much harder for people to leave the projects in Harlem and move even to Blacklandia, let alone Atlanta, Charlotte, or Florida. There are opportunities to move to places like Tulsa (where I lived for 18 months), Bentonville AK, The Shoals in Ll, and other cities where they will pay you to move there. Still, many people can't imagine NYC -- despite the crime, noise, dirt, hyper-policing of Black people, and high cost of living -- they love NYC. NYC does still have some appeal, but I'd rather visit than live there -- and I was born raised, and lived most of my adult life there. This is perfectly reasonable as prior to the hyper-partisanship of today most people held views that were supported by different parties.

Hey @Chevdove are you in the San Diego area? I asked because you've emphasized he text.

Black people are leaving New York City on their own volition. The NY Times did an article on this recently: Why Black Families Are Leaving New York, and What It Means for the City i would quote from the article but it is behind a paywall and i already exceeded my free access for the month (with just this one article). Harlem is going back to being white… you can’t keep anything you never owned.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – January 18, 2023) – At this year’s Independent Book Publishers Association’s annual conference, IBPA Publishing University, the conference will explore the theme of what it means to “Navigate, Innovate, Elevate” within the independent book publishing industry. The theme is a meaningful reference to IBPA’s 40th anniversary, which the association is celebrating in 2023, and its role in the past four decades advocating for, and helping independent book publishers to build long term, successful businesses. With this theme in mind, IBPA is excited to announce that one of the three keynote presentations at the conference taking place May 4-6 in San Diego, CA, will feature a panel of highly respected industry leaders whose publishing businesses have spanned decades and have overcome every type of challenges along the way. The keynote panel “Legends of Black Independent Publishing: Learning from the Best” will invite onto the stage: Dr. Haki Madhubuti, founder of Third World Press Foundation; W. Paul Coates, founder of Black Classic Press; Kassahun Checole, founder of Africa World Press and The Red Sea Press; and Wade Hudson and Cheryl Hudson, founders of Just Us Books. The panel will be moderated by Troy Johnson, founder of the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC.com). With a combined industry experience of 150+ years, these publishers will answer the question, “What do you do when your community is under-served, under-represented, and under-published?” You serve, represent, and publish! The complete conference agenda can be viewed at https://www.publishinguniversity.org/schedule. In addition, registration is now open for IBPA Publishing University ### To moderate this panel is truly an honor. When I first sat down to start AALBC, in 1997, all of these businesses were firmly established, but I did not know anything about them. I soon learned about all of them and their significant impact on Black books and by extension our culture. If you are a book publisher, you really need to attend IBPA Publishing University It is not often you'll get these icons in the same room.

Not clear to me why he had to be shot to death. Seems to me tazing / clubbing then cuffing him would have sufficed… but i was not there.

why do you say that? To me that sounds like idle hands are the devils workshop. But the culture would also have to develop into one that fosters people being motivated by self actualization rather than the pursuit of money. That would be true freedom. @Delano I thought you’d understand that, more than most. This might sound silly, but think Star Trek; hire much do you think the Captain of the Starship Enterprise makes a year? If you mean “fast” in terms of me actually using the software in a practical fashion, sure, why not? What I did was trivial. How the largest companies are using AI helps me understand how easily their profit-driven manipulation-engines work.

@Uncle Omari Thanks for sharing this YouTube channel. However, do me a favor and PLEASE delete all of the redundant posts -- they are not necessary and it looks like spam from an administrator's perspective.

I asked ChatGPT a question regarding SQL code: The question regarded some basic SQL syntax, that I used to know when I used it more frequently, but no longer recalled. I would normally pose the question on Google search (I found google to be best for tech queries). The answer was correct and saved me some steps over a Google search. I also used open ChatGPT to write an author bio for Investment Manager Eddie C. Brown. I added a birth date an tweaked some info, but it was pretty good out-the-box and better than what the publisher supplied. I can see AI ultimately replacing a wide variety of professional occupations. The question will be what do we do with the people? I would like to see a society where people are paid enough to live a fulfilling life without having to work very much -- unless they want to. AI can make this possible.

Our peculiar institution of slavery made a minority of people super wealthy. But it was a net loss for the country on many levels. Think about all the geniuses whose contributions to the society were lost because there were laboring in some field. Think about all the jobs lost because slaves were forced to do work for free. That could have helped support many poor white people with good jobs. Slavery stunted America’s collective prosperity to this day, while making a small minority very wealthy. …just like today.

I think not think you had been an abuser @richardmurray I was being nit picky about the experience bit. Sorry about that. i think we need a lot of help being informed. Many of use know very little of our own family history. People don’t talk especially if the experience is bad.

@ProfD OK.

OH OK 🙂 I'm fine with hashing this out in public. Give me a second to digest and respond. I'm in the midst of rebuilding AALBC and this stuff is super relevant right now.

That is not quite accurate. AI does not operate on instruction provided by humans, otherwise, it would be a traditional computer program not Artificial Intelligence. AI can already replicate the featured you described including, What is missing is sentience which may bring on a desire to self-sustain, but this is the stuff of science fiction, 😉

Of course, humans are behind it, but I trust the output is generated purely by AI. @Delano I asked the ChatGPT the following question, “Why is African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) a good resource to find information about books written by Black authors?” It responded: The African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) is a good resource to find information about books written by Black authors because it is a community-driven organization that is dedicated to promoting and celebrating Black literature. The AALBC website provides a wealth of information about books written by Black authors, including reviews, author interviews, and lists of recommended books. The website is also an active community, with forums, book clubs, and other resources where readers can connect with each other and discuss books. In addition, AALBC is a great resource for discovering new Black authors, as well as for learning more about the history and evolution of Black literature. The organization also hosts events and provides resources for writers, making it a hub for the Black literary community. In summary, the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) is a great resource for finding information about books written by Black authors because of its commitment to promoting and celebrating Black literature, its extensive library of information about books and authors, and its active community of readers, writers, and literary enthusiasts. To more directly answer your question, I posed the following question: "Compare and contrast Goodreads with the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) as a resource to find information about books written by Black authors" The program took a lot longer to answer this question. Goodreads and the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) are both online resources that can be used to find information about books written by Black authors. However, they have some key differences: Goodreads: Goodreads is a social network for book lovers that allows users to share and discover books, create and join book clubs, and keep track of books they have read or want to read. It is a more general platform that is not specifically focused on books written by Black authors, but rather on books of all genres and by authors of all backgrounds. It provides a large database of books, authors, and reviews, as well as a variety of tools and resources for book lovers, including the ability to create personal reading lists and track your reading progress. Goodreads also allows users to connect with other readers and join virtual book clubs to discuss books they are reading. African American Literature Book Club (AALBC): AALBC is a dedicated resource specifically focused on books written by Black authors and is committed to promoting and celebrating Black literature. It provides a comprehensive library of information about books written by Black authors, including reviews, author interviews, and lists of recommended books. The AALBC website is an active community, with forums, book clubs, and other resources where readers can connect with each other and discuss books. The website also provides resources for writers and hosts events, making it a hub for the Black literary community. In conclusion, both Goodreads and AALBC can be useful resources for finding information about books written by Black authors, but AALBC is specifically focused on Black literature, whereas Goodreads is a more general platform for all books. Whether you choose Goodreads or AALBC will depend on your specific needs and interests as a reader. Now I see how some platforms are using AI to generate articles or students use it to write papers. Finally, I asked the program, "Tell me about Troy Johnson the founder of African American Literature Book Club (AALBC):" I could tell that some of the information was grabbed from my site and paraphrased. There is a factual error in that I am not an author. Though my name does appear on the cover of at least one book, so I would not call it egregious. The last line, "He is committed to promoting diversity and representation in the literary world and has made significant contributions to the Black literary community." is spot on 🙂 The program seems to have crafted this entirely on it own. I know I never wrote that about myself. I did an internet search and could not find the text, This is the response; Troy Johnson is the founder of the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC). AALBC is one of the largest and most comprehensive online resources dedicated to promoting and celebrating books written by Black authors. Johnson started AALBC in 1997 as a response to what he saw as a lack of attention and recognition for Black writers and their works. He wanted to create a platform where Black literature could be celebrated and where readers could find information and connect with each other. Over the years, AALBC has grown into a thriving community that supports Black writers and promotes Black literature. In addition to his work with AALBC, Johnson is also an author and literary critic. He has written extensively about Black literature and has been a frequent speaker on the subject. He is committed to promoting diversity and representation in the literary world and has made significant contributions to the Black literary community.

Yeah, that confused me too. You used the word "experience" in contrast with "see" which implied you were an active participant in law enforcement abuse presumably the abused and not the abuser given the context. Who knows, but talking about these things will help inform people and that is what has been lacking in our community, whether it is a refusal to speak or deliberately hidden. There is much about our history that is missing. The culture you describe @richardmurray is not limited to Black people it is embedded in the American culture.

being willing to acknowledge that you learned something is not a sign of being soft, but one of strength.

You should passed that question to ChatGPT 🙂

Providing feedback will help. AALBC should 🙂 you are a tough customer 🙂 but who know maybe it will be able to one day.

I recommend you all read this article from Reader Digest about gun ownership and gun violence in America: https://www.rd.com/article/gun-violence-statistics/ If there is an article that argues that our current gun culture and the number of guns out there is a good thing please share it. I think people buy guns for the feeling of power guns can provide. But I'm sure the psychology behind all of this is much more complex. America, especially in the south, is a gun culture. Guns are as American as apple pie. I also believe the media has a lot to do with our obsession with guns. We all hear about every mass shooting, so we think we are likely to be involved in one, when the odds are actually very small. The likelihood of a full-on race war in America is virtually nil. Sure there are people who want a race war and might even try to start one, but a sustained race war or anything like our civil war will not happen. Buying guns and ammunition in preparation for a race war is lunacy, but lucrative for gun sellers. Yeah @Pioneer1, the media would have loved some riots -- they are great for ratings. It is interesting how quickly the Black police officers were dealt with. If they were white they'd be on paid leave.