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I'm not sure what message we get from the doctors now -

They seem to interlace every visit with things like "your lab results (or XYZ test, or something values) are a bit off, but for your age. . . ."

I wish our teachers at Custer would have been generous like that - "your algebra test score was a little bit low, but for your age. . . ." Cut us some slack maybe.

08/09/25 01:20 PM

#3626

May be a point of interest but the banner announcing the September 20th luncheon was created entirely on ChatGPT! I gave it a photo and some data and artificial intelligence did the rest. Of course it took me days to understand how to use the website for graphics and it came back with misspellings. I'd tell it what to correct or what I wanted differently and it'd come back completely changed and maybe new misspellings.! I'm going to run this paragraph through it too and you'll see the changes below. I'm preparing for the day I'm unable to do this website anymore and AI takes over!!!

Believe it or not, the banner for the September 20th luncheon was made entirely by ChatGPT! I fed it a photo and a few details, and artificial intelligence took it from there. Of course, it only took me three days, a gallon of coffee, and several mild headaches to figure out how to make the website do graphics. Along the way, it gifted me with some truly creative misspellings. I’d ask for a simple fix, and it would come back looking completely different—plus a bonus typo or two, just to keep things exciting. I’m even running this paragraph through it now, so if anything sounds odd… blame the robot. I’m just getting ready for the day when I can’t run the website anymore and AI gets the keys to the kingdom!

Now is that spooky or what?

08/11/25 01:24 PM

#3627

David Holm

Frightening!!

08/11/25 01:28 PM

#3628

David Holm

Ai has already learned what CYA means.

08/12/25 06:06 AM

#3629

This AI stuff isn't all that new or exciting. My teachers used to tell me I had awful intelligence all the time. That's AI, aint't it?

08/14/25 01:15 PM

#3630

Been fun watching the Brewers play this year. Will someone in Milwaukee go get me that free hamburger at George Webb's with the Brewers winning twelve straight? Been looking at ways to part with some of my stuff. Leaning toward Facebook Market Place cash and carry. Decide to go to the Doctor and get checked out since I'm having a hard time getting from the couch to the refridgerator. Doctor told me that the good life I lived to get those extra years. Well they are here now.

08/15/25 02:27 PM

#3631

Decide to check on how much hamburger, onions, ketchup, mustard and buns were used on George Webb's hamburger give away were used in 1987. They ordered 25000 lbs ground beef, 173,000 hamburger buns, 673 gallons ketchup, 286 gallons mustard, 2868 lbs of onions (57 50 lbs bags) and 367,180 pickle slices. there is about 800 pickle slices in a gallon so that would be about 459 gallons pickle slices. They get about 200 lbs out of each head of cattle so that would be 125 head of cattle. Suspect a little less ground beef out of a bull because much of the bull is used for bull -loney.

08/16/25 10:40 AM

#3632

As I’m lying here, in my hospital bed, I’m thinking about some of the medical issues and concerns I’ve read here the last couple of months, I realize how incredibly blessed we’ve been to be here in our 80s. And I realize that my shot at humor a couple of weeks ago - “the doctor said for your age. . . , “ wasn’t far off. Up ’til now, any illness, hurt, or glitch, I always considered an isolated event, s*&*! happens, and I’d get over it or adapt. Now, it’s beginning to set in that things are no longer isolated, things happen because of “my age.” My parts are way beyond warranty. My heart beats funny because the atrial spark plug has been banging for so long, the parts for moving, walking, lifting, eating, and all that stuff, are getting worn after several million uses, their tread is getting a little thin. I need to accept that “at my age” things are different, I can’t do what I did when I was 30, or last year, for that matter. Not only does my body have to accept that, my brain does too. Fortunately, most fortunately, that is still working darn good “for my age,” but it’ll have some new thinking, a different life, to get used to.

08/29/25 04:00 PM

#3633

Since Jim won’t say it himself — and several people have asked — I’ll report that he’s doing fine and is out of the hospital. As they say, only the good die young, which means Jim (and the rest of us reading this) are safe for a long time yet! No need to worry, Jim, unless John Wayne shows up beside you again. Vacation’s over now, my friend.

On another happy note, Barbara Blair Brenzel shares that her daughter is responding very well to the new drug therapy. We’re delighted for both you and your daughter, Barb, and look forward to seeing you at the September luncheon.”

08/29/25 05:05 PM

#3634

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

OK. So as a followup, I had an appointment with the cardiologist yesterday, and had a near-death experience. He said everything looked fine, called me "low maintenance," and said I could go run a marathon. I almost died laughing!

08/30/25 02:01 PM

#3635

I'm so happy you made it through your cardiac incident, Jim! And thank you for that excellent description of the real world us "80's" now have to live in. I am at my sister's bedside just following her second open heart surgery to patch up a hole that broke open next to the new valve she received only 3 years ago. Yes, we are grateful for the wonderful science and skilled surgeon that will allow ber to return home to her beloved dog and her well-tended garden.

09/05/25 04:51 PM

#3636

Huraaaayyyyy! Yippeeeee!

The NFL games have officially started.

That means that volleyball season is here and there'll be lots of games to watch, maybe a couple to go to, in the next couple months.

09/11/25 03:51 PM

#3637

Trying to come up with some reasons to leave sunny Southern California to attend the Class Luncheon on Sept. 20. Well would get to see my OLD classmates. At least some of my Custerites that haven't made their last stand yet. Some go all the way back to 5th grade such as Wayne "Rye"nick and Bernie Raml. Could check out Kopp's flavor of the day. Probably wouldn't be able to make up my mind on a choice so just have to go every day. Could take my family out for a fish fry. Visit Usinger's and come back with half a suitcase of their famous winiers. Vist Klement's and come back with the other half suitcase full of summer sausage. But as I deal with csiatica, just hard to get around. So probably best to just stay home.

09/27/25 04:19 PM

#3638

I love today's technology. Since returning from Milwaukee and our luncheon I've spent most of the this past week almost constantly on my computer trying to get the report and photos on this website. A.I. helped make the front page image after only two days of correcting multiple misspellings and changing images. Then I did the story and it TWICE just disappeared after I loaded it up on the website. The photos were such joy, NONE of them would load! NONE! Turns out their format was too big for our vendor ... but would it tell me that? Of course not. So I had to run each photo through Paint and reduce to 10% of the original. Would they load then? Absolutely not!!! I watched the vendor's how-to video twice and not a clue in there. An A.I. search let me know that iPhones' record photos in HEIC - whatever that is - and the website only takes jpegs! So I had to convert every single one, one at a time. But to do that I had to buy a program that does conversions! So I loaded the photos once, and they disappeared! Did it again and proceeded to add captions. Got that done. Went to dinner, came back and everthing had disappeared, story and photos! Reloaded everything again, redid the captions and I couldn't get any of it to go "live" on the website. Lost it twice more but found it. I am now 81 but feel 91 my back aches from this damn ergonomic chair and am looking for masochists who would like to take over hosting a website with all the modern work-saving technologies!!!

09/27/25 08:40 PM

#3639

Terri Levenhagen (Hoornstra)

Welcome to the club Garry. Trying to upload photos or cartoons the last year or two and the same has happened to me. The folks who make all this wonderful modern electronic stuff don't use the same logic as us 80s folks. Of course, growing up with rotary dial phones (with cords) and slide rules, what do you expect.

09/28/25 02:02 PM

#3640

I loved the reunion photos and am really sorry to have missed seeing my "old" buddies from Custer. You are all looking great - really! Garry, I can relate to your tech woes in uploading the photos. This happened to me recently - and I only had to upload FOUR things! Had to reduce size, convert from HEIC to PDF (all this after several tries at each endeavor). Anyway, thank you for going through the effort. I'm still here in the Bay Area with my sister and couldn't make the reunion - looks like a good time was had by all!

09/30/25 09:13 AM

#3641

Nancy Davison (Boerger)

Garry, you are a dear to wrestle with the technology and upload the photos for those who didn’t make the reunion. The old gang looks just great!

We are less and less inclined to travel, having seen about everything on our wish list and finding plane travel increasingly uninviting. May still make the drive to Milwaukee again, but this wasn’t the year. I’m still fighting with plantar fascitis in one stupid foot (the other, smart one, is working fine) and Karsten has finally decided to go ahead with shoulder surgery to repair that he wrecked with years of killer tennis serves. Our lighthouse museum (using up lots of volunteer docent hours) is closed for the season and the visiting kids are home again until Thanksgiving, so we're using the freed-up time to catch up on neglected jobs. Other than that, we’re still getting through the usual house cleaning, lawn and garden care, boat maintenance, etc., albeit slowly and with increasing grumbling.

Terri, your victory over the challenge of photo uploading is truly impressive! For sure, I would have failed. Can barely manage the t.v. control; when Roku makes some deviation and it all goes bad, Karsten comes to the rescue. Without him, I would surely be without a t.v. He’s also a great user of You Tube for how to repair anything.

Colors are beginning to turn, so the leaf peepers will be here soon. Enjoy the fall, everyone.

10/10/25 07:40 AM

#3642

Wisconsin is a fraud! I planned a big family reunion for right now in Eagle River expecting this to be the height of breathtaking fall colors. And what do I get. Zero! Zilch! Nada! Nichts! A 400 mile drive from Milwaukee behind some of the worst drivers in the world, super freeways going through lovely towns at 25 mph behind trucks going 15 mph and nobody willing to pass them ... and dead looking dull green trees. Once in a while a light shade of orange but it was probably poison ivy! What have you guys done to my golden state? You took away the most beautiful time of the year! Fraud!!!/

10/10/25 05:35 PM

#3643

Garry,

Easy boy. Wisconsin is not a fraud. They knew you were coming, and figured why waste all that beautiful fall color on California people who choose to live someplace where everything is basically brown all year round.

10/23/25 03:52 PM

#3644

Would be nice to see a little more action on this web site. At least from those that aren't in the Alzheimer's wing of assisted living YET. What's going on with Wisconsin Football? Looks like Wisconsin doesn't have anybody on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd team or honorable mention team. So they head up the best of the rest and the rest of the rest team. The recruiting has to get better. Been selling stuff on Facebook Market Place. I found that's better than just trying to stay busy doing nothing. Have a couple of things to do yet on my bucket list from my birthday, Like going to DQ and getting a chocolate malt.

10/24/25 04:51 PM

#3645

Might give your grandson a call, Gary, rather than spending hours and hours on the web site. Your grandson is probably more up to date on the new technology.

10/25/25 06:22 AM

#3646

Ron,

As you might have noticed, nothing is going on with Wisconsin football - nothing, as in scoring nothing the last two games, playing competitive footbal, or going to bowl games. The Big 10 now has 18 teams, and WI is ranked 16th.

Watch the woman's volleyball team instead, they're really good (and better looking.)

10/25/25 11:15 PM

#3647

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1956) is on PBS tonight here in the Bay Area. I turned it on and instantly became 12-year-old Gary again (back when my mom assured me there was only one “r” in my name)—shaking, wide-eyed, and afraid to blink in case a pod showed up in my bedroom.

But my horror history started earlier. In 1951, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" gave us “Klaatu barada nikto”—and also gave me my first near-death experience from fear. Then "War of the Worlds" (1953) left my fingernail marks permanently embedded in the seats of the old Ritz Theatre. And in 1954, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" finished the job. That one didn’t just scare me—it delayed puberty by at least six months.

Those four movies are my Mount Rushmore of Childhood Trauma. And that’s why, to this day, I don’t watch scary movies. I hit my lifetime terror limit before junior high. (Actually, I confess to seeing, "You're going to need a bigger boat.")

10/30/25 06:54 PM

#3648

Garry,

Of your 4 Mt Rushmore movies, 3, at least, have had later remakes (not sure about Creature). IF you've seen any of those, how do they compare with the "classics"?

11/10/25 03:59 PM

#3649