Adrian’s Microblog

Strange end to the Orioles season: Great sweep of the Blue Jays in the second to last series, then 10-2 win over Yakees, followed by 3-6 loss in the double header. Then . . .

Final game of the year cancelled (with no reschedule) due to nor’easter. :/

I had said I’d be happy if we finished above 500 - we didn’t quite get there at 79-82. August showed some spark, but September fizzled some.

Good to celebrate Pete Alonso’s wins:

• First MLB player to be the RBI leader in both AL and NL

• Most homeruns in AL for the season (at 43)

And I think I see the team starting to settle in with each other a bit and get real about what it’s going to take (as opposed to the pump machine of the last couple years that kept faltering in the delivery phase).

I don’t know enough details about Elias’ management to make any definitive calls – it has seemed a little helter-skelter at times, and I know he’s had to work within some limitations in a small market team. I’ve appreciated Rubenstein & owner group’s willingness to up the investment and there may be ways we’ll see the payoff (Basallo contract, Alonso contract, Bradish contract, Baz contract, and others).

The possibility is still there, but it’s not just ‘going to happen’ (as I feel like may have been a mindset the organization was unconsciously operating from) – In my mind, a proper soul-searching reset this off-season sets the stage for what can be a better performing 2027. If it all clicks, perhaps a promising post-season – but I’d settle for at least demonstrating the potential that exists and having some fun ball, which is really what I think everyone enjoys anyways. 🙂⚾

Random interesting thing from today: ListenNotes

Listen Notes is the best podcast search engineTM. It’s like Google, but for podcasts. Search the whole Internet’s podcasts. Curate your own podcast playlists. Listen on your favorite podcast player apps. Trusted by 2,000,000+ people every month

I’ve started thinking that PKI (or a similar technology) is going to increasingly become important for everyday digital postings and interactions as a way of verifying authenticity in the age of AI …

Man, these fakes are getting too real.

Perhaps everyone should be issued a public-private key at birth (just like a SSN) … only half-joking 😉

Some of this ‘AI stuff’ echoes how Y2K felt –

Not to say that there’s no danger in the end, but just the feeling of an impending computer-caused civilization catastrophe.

for whatever that’s worth …

All this AI talk reminds me of an old joke:

Don’t anthropomorphize computers – they hate that.

😉

It is not possible to provide a single, comprehensive definition of AI. What can be stated, however, is that we must avoid the misconception of equating this type of “intelligence” with that of human beings. These systems merely imitate certain functions of human intelligence. In doing so, they often surpass human intelligence in speed and computational capacity, offering tangible benefits across many fields. Yet this power remains entirely tied to data processing. So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate language, behavior and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. Even when these tools are described as capable of “learning,” their way of doing so is different from that of a human person. It is not the experience of those who allow themselves to be shaped by life and grow over time through choices, mistakes, forgiveness and fidelity. Rather, it is a form of statistical adaptation based on data and feedback, which can be very effective, but does not imply inner growth.

from Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV

I can’t quite put my finger on why it’s been strange to hear AI executives and insiders warn so direly about about an almost ‘end to humanity as we know it’ within the next decade unless regulators step in to stop it …

But I think part of it is, that it sounds akin to a man driving his car wildly on the road swerving this way and that, and telling everybody else that they need to stop him.

AI companies: How about you think about what you’re doing (purportedly for the rest of us) and not try to pass the responsibility (and presumably cost) onto somebody else.

Just a thought.

(UPDATE 21 Sep 2026: Looks like Sam Altman may agree as well.)

Pete Alonso hits his 300th home run!

The 10th quickest to do so

While playing with his new team (Orioles) against his old team (Mets)

The Mets fans have shown such class, sportsmanship, and love of the game

And congratulations Pete! 🎉⚾️🏟️

Recently watched “Hoppers” movie from Pixar (Mar 2026 release) with the fam’ and REALLY enjoyed!

Strong recommend, not only as a fun and not ditzy kids movie, but also for a fairly dimensional and insightful treatment of many subjects (reminiscent of Pixar’s stronger works).

Two thumbs up. 👍👍

Holding & Letting Go by Malcolm Guite

We have a call to live

and oh, a common call to die.

I watched you and my father go

to bid a friend goodbye.

I watched you hold my father’s hand.

How could it not be so?

The gentleness of holding on

helps in the letting go.

For when we feel our frailty,

how can we not respond

and reach to hold another’s hand

and feel the common bond?

For then we touch the heights above

and every depth below.

We touch the very quick of love,

holding and letting go.

(video short)