Boy it’s Texas cold outside this morning. By that I mean for SE Texas is really cold, colder than normal. But considering what most folks around the country are experiencing, It’s just a balmy winter day.
I’ve had my nose buried in my computer for the last 4 days or so. Doing a deep dive into the back end of this blog. I’m also trying to make the design of this and all my other websites a bit more cohesive. And this all started because I started experimenting with AI.
I’ve really been spending time on my Appalachian Mountain Dreams site. Once I looked at it, I noticed it hadn’t been updated in over 3 years. Not much else had been done either. So, I guess it was really time.
I have been letting the AI do the design integration. It’s been a real collaborative effort. Some suggestions I take, some I push back on. I noticed as I reviewed some of my pages that they had become dated. So I’ve been rewriting most of them.
The AI agent could read all of the pages and posts across all three sites. It offered suggestions to make the three sites more in sync.
I suppose if I was running a business it would have been something I would have done by hiring a consultant. And for all intents that is exactly what I did. And since this “business” doesn’t bring in any income other than my own satisfaction, I hired the consultant I could afford.
Hopefully, this new resurgence in attention to all can be maintained as it will be beneficial to all three sites. I know my enthusiasm level has peaked. It’s fun to be able to pick a subject and direct the research direction, be given two or three drafts on the subject, hone in on a message, direct the production of illustrations, finalize the page, and schedule it for publication. And do all of that on a subject I don’t even know anything about and do it all in a couple of hours. And when it’s done, the AI agent will offer a direction for continuing the research. And in the process, reading over the drafts is a learning experience in it’s own right.
The grandkids are getting ready for school, the baby will be in shortly, so I need to close this muse down… And spend some more time wading through my draft folder over at Appalachian Mountain Dreams.
Here’s one of my AI generated songs I collaborated on, for what it’s worth…
Just for grins I dropped the above into the AI and it came up with this rewrite…
Well, I woke up to a bit of a bite in the air this morning—at least by our Southeast Texas standards. It’s what I’d call “Texas cold,” which means we’re all shivering and looking for the heavy coats while the rest of the country probably looks at our thermometer and laughs. To them, it’s a balmy winter day; to us, it’s a reason to stay hunkered down with a hot cup of coffee.
I’ve spent the better part of the last four days with my nose buried in the glowing screen of my computer. I decided it was time for a deep dive into the backend of this blog, working to bring a little more cohesion to the design here and across my other digital corners. It’s funny how a little experimentation with AI can turn into a full-scale renovation project.
The Digital Architect
I’ve been focusing quite a bit of energy on my Appalachian Mountain Dreams site lately. When I finally took a hard look at it, I realized the poor thing hadn’t seen a proper update in over three years. It was definitely time to knock off the digital cobwebs.
I’ve essentially been treating the AI as a collaborative partner in this design integration. We’ve been working together—I’ll take a suggestion here, push back on one there, and slowly weave the three sites into something that feels like they belong to the same family. In the process, I noticed how dated some of my older pages had become, so I’ve been busy rewriting most of them from the ground up.
The Consultant I Could Afford
If I were running a proper business, I’d have probably hired a fancy consultant to handle this kind of sync-up. Since this “business” of mine pays strictly in personal satisfaction rather than cold hard cash, I hired the only consultant that fit the budget: the AI. It’s been a fascinating process. The AI agent can scan the posts across all three sites and offer suggestions to bring them into harmony. My enthusiasm has definitely peaked. There’s a certain thrill in:
- Directing the Research: Picking a subject and seeing where the rabbit hole leads.
- Honing the Message: Working through two or three drafts until the “voice” feels right.
- Visualizing the Dream: Directing the production of custom illustrations.
- Rapid Publication: Taking a subject I knew nothing about and having a polished, finalized page scheduled in just a couple of hours.
The best part? It’s a learning experience. Reading through those drafts is like taking a mini-course on the fly, and once we’re done, the AI is already pointing toward the next trail to hike.
The house is starting to stir now. The grandkids are getting ready for school, and the baby will be making an appearance shortly. It’s time to close down this particular muse and get back to wading through my draft folder over at Appalachian Mountain Dreams.
Stay warm out there—or at least as warm as a Texas winter allows.
I will say this, it must be doing something right. The grammar tool in the WordPress backend highlights both of our writing as have way too many “long sentences”.
