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“Doubt is unpleasant, but certainty is absurd.” —Voltaire

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— MY TWO CENTS WORTH —

Good morning,

We live in a world of increasing fake. Phoniness surrounds us no matter what we do or where we go.

Our society (and nearly all others) is getting crowded with scammers, grifters, and two-bit sharks. They’re online, on our phones, even in our neighborhoods, and in the US mail. And, I read the other day where you even have to guard against phony delivery drivers.

Worse yet, it’s getting worse!

Trying to do what’s right —or what’s effective— isn’t easy. For example, I’ve tried to safeguard my online activities with specific security measures. But it’s tough to keep pace because there’s always a new scam aimed at separating us from our money and other valuables.

One of today’s stories tells about an effort underway to help people tell the difference between an AI-generated face and an actual human one.

The other day, however, I did get an intriguing email:

You bet, Andy! I’m currently drawing up a shopping list for my new VISA ATM card.

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— DISPATCHES FROM THE OLD WEST — 

(1) In the late summer of 1876, the U.S. Army achieved a significant victory when a small command of 32 men repelled an attack by an overwhelming force of Lakota Sioux. Read all about "THE WAGON BOX FIGHT."

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(2) The cowboy boot is one of the most recognizable symbols of the American West. Cowboy boots were built for function and then fashion.  

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— DISPATCHES FROM HERE & THERE —  

(3) From the I WISH I HADN’T SAID THAT file:  

“Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.” — Dr. Dionysius Lardner, on railways. (1830)

Within 20 years, the rails spanned entire nations.

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(4) When I was a kid, tree houses were pretty basic. A simple platform of scrap lumber nailed to a tree trunk with a sheet of tarp for a roof and a rope ladder for access. And, of course, a crude, land-lettered sign warned: No Girls Allowed. Today, as you’ll see in this story, nothing is the way it was—especially tree houses. 

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(5) Differentiating an AI-generated face from an actual human one is getting more difficult. Researchers in Australia, Canada, and the UK are training people to identify the difference through what it calls perceptual qualities.   

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(6) If you’ve ever wondered why something is “The best thing since sliced bread,” look no further. The idiom gained traction after Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa, introduced the first bread slicing machine. 

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(7) How good are you at identifying national parks? You can test your skill by playing Name That National Park!, a multiple-choice quiz. 

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"The truth is simple, so we complicate the journey." —George Sand

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