October 3, 2026 NV #218

“Men's private self-worlds are rather like our geographical world's seasons, storm, and sun, deserts, oases, mountains and abysses, the endless-seeming plateaus, darkness and light, and always the sowing and the reaping.”- Faith Baldwin

Mortifiably Speaking

“Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down with incredible swiftness.” - Faith Baldwin

WHO, WHAT & HOW:  Mark Twain quipped back in 1897 that, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”  Funny. But only funny until I came across my obit on-line last week and found out that I’ve been dead and gone for a little over a year.

You will (or I would at least) “hopefully” note that this is simply a garbled report accomplished by Artificial Intelligence. Richard C. apparently did pass away last year. But unless I somehow missed it, I  (Richard N.) did not.

The argument (oops, I mean discussion) folks are currently having about A.I. regarding placing some guard rails on it has some validity. While, in my case, this error may not be  critical in the eyes of most folks; they’re not the ones affected.

Keep in mind that this is just a single instance of this mix-up happening. And what really bothers me is the near accuracy of my background in the report. [i.e., I had long ago forgotten about the Edison School Parent-Teacher thing. In the scheme of things, it’s perhaps one of the most trivial activities in which I was ever involved.  Aside from everything else, that little tidbit of information would in some cases be enough to make all of it seem legitimate to some folks.]

In this instance it’s not a matter of WHO caused this minor error to happen. It’s more a matter of WHAT .

One needs to understand that while A.I. can be very useful in very many ways, one must also understand that it’s not just the question you ask that’s important. (You will certainly get an answer.) Of main import is HOW – the words you use to ask .. They’re important.

WHAT'S IN A WORD

“You play your heart out and get a stomach ache.” - Charlie Brown

VOCABULARY: Learning new words is a good thing.

WHEN WE BECAME "TRAIN TOWN'

“A good garden may have some weeds.” -Thomas Fuller 

THIS IS A TRIVIAL HISTORY: I am often surprised by the numbers of people who come to Vermilion that are fascinated by trains passing through.

For many Vermilionites trains are simply an annoyance.

This is A VERY SPECIAL NOTE

NEW: I’ve added a “special section” to the “Past 20 Years” part of the page. You will find there nearly (but not all) every video and audio production I’ve published over the last few years. They’re not arranged as nicely as I want them to be. But SOME are there – and I’ll add to them as time passes.

RATHBUN

“In America, public opinion is the leader.” - Frances Perkins

UNFINISHED: I’m not done with this video. I’m just not satisfied with it. I got involved working with the photographs and needed to do more with the subject. It’s kind of a a “pretty” production. But it lacks “guts”.

Xin loi.

CAPAIN "BIG ED" LAMPE (under the Buckeye Tree)

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VERMILION HISTORY THEATRE:  Due to all the distractions surrounding me lately I neglected to keep the link to the History Audio/ Video Theatre. So – click on the name above and visit.