Old man, old cars, and old whisky
The performer makes a prediction and writes a number on a piece of paper, which is given to an audience member for safekeeping. A deck of cards is shuffled, and a volunteer assists in the experiment. After some seemingly random card reversals, the number of reversed cards in the deck matches the prediction exactly. This is a Bob Hummer effect and is self working.
Continue reading “Predicting the Reversed Cards”Nick Trost’s Subtle Card Creations Vol. 2 has a trick called the Magnetic Cards. It basically is a four ace trick that is similar to the Gemini Twins. His description of the effect: The performer and a spectator each hold a shuffled half-deck. The spectator follows the performer’s actions. They each remove a card from their half-deck. They rub it on their sleeve to “magnetize” it. Then, they replace it face up into their respective half’-decks. Each half-deck is spread to show that each “magnetic” card has attracted two aces.
Continue reading “Magnetic cards”I recently saw a photo of a group of protesters holding signs that said “Trust the Science.” I found that was, in my opinion, a very incorrect position to take. Science is based upon being skeptical of the claims and always seeking better and better proof. So with the help of AI I wrote a page on the topic: The Vital Role of Skepticism in Scientific Progress
I am a fan of British Television. One of my favorite series is the crime drama Midsomer Murders. I got to wondering about all of the crime there.
Continue reading “Midsomer: A Fine Place to Die”I was experimenting with the “cut deeper” method that I wrote about here and came up with a variation. This version has a cleaner ending but requires a bit more effort.
Continue reading “Variation on Spectator Cuts to the Aces”
These are examples of AI merging different duck species, to create new ones.
Since I have been playing around with AI image generation using the free AI image generators that are available, I thought I would try one of the ones you pay for. Thanks to Google and Facebook, I have be inundated with ads for them. Artspace AI looked promising and offered a reasonably priced lifetime membership, so I went ahead and paided for it.
Continue reading “Review of Artspace AI image generator”
In early 2024, AI image generation has reached a fascinating paradox. At first glance, the technology seems almost magical – capable of creating stunning, photorealistic scenes that blend reality with imagination. Take, for instance, the task of generating a hybrid classic car design: when prompted to combine a ’67 Mustang with a ’57 MGA Roadster, AI can produce images with remarkable attention to automotive detail, set against perfectly rendered mountainous backgrounds with dramatic lighting. The chrome gleams, the curves flow, and the setting sun casts just the right shadows on the cliffs.
Continue reading “AI image generation, still a ways to go.”
The American legislative process has undergone a troubling transformation over the past century. What began as a system producing focused, comprehensible laws has evolved into one that regularly generates massive, incomprehensible omnibus bills thousands of pages long. This shift threatens the very foundations of democratic governance by making it impossible for legislators, let alone the public, to understand what they’re voting on or what has become law.
Continue reading “The Case for Smaller Bills: Restoring Transparency in American Legislation”This is one of the classic card magic plots. There are a lot of variations to it, the Conjuring Archive lists over 100 entries when searching for the title. The basic plot is the spectator is invited to cut the deck, and—through a cleverly designed plot—the aces end up being revealed at the cut. One of the earliest versions was published in The Royal Road to Card Magic, titled “Poker Player’s Picnic.” This version sets the template for many of the ones that followed, namely having the deck cut into four piles on the table.
Continue reading “Spectator cuts the aces”