This page shows a running, reverse-chronology of all pages on this site!
It also includes notes about little stylistic updates to the site. Scroll downwards to navigate backwards through this site's existence, or view future plans. You can also navigate through the general site map.
Ideas for future topics? Contact me here! The polls page offers another venue for interaction with this site. Please consider also checking out my burgeoning vtubing quest.
What effect do chatbots have on our sense of intimacy as a culture, and how is this changing? What's the future going to be like?
A reverse-chronological list of news articles I've collected about generative AI and related stuff. New links are obviously added regularly, so check back frequently.
🔗︎ Log of Pics
A running log of small images, memes, and clippings about artificial intelligence, both generated by me and those gathered from elsewhere online for context.
This is the general list of links, videos, and places to discuss artificial intelligence that I've found online, or, at least, those that I figured were worth mentioning here.
I explain in some detail my tentative plans to become a vtuber focusing on transhumanism as a topic, creating video essays and more. Running log of updates for this quest!
🎨︎ Upgraded to Pro-AI Art Camp.
I've pretty much decided that I've part of the "AI art is art" camp, mostly because it start to make me feel, and I didn't realize the music was AI generated, but I should've thought of that. The date is not related but yeah.
🛠︎ Upgraded to Qwen3.60-A3B.
I upgraded my usual large language model to Qwen3.60-A3B. Unable to access it via SillyTavern, but it works fine elsewhere, including VS Code, so that's good for now.
My amateur character cards for SillyTavern and similar programs, paired with the chatlogs each one produced. One page, one character at a time.
🤨︎ I am sick as heck right now.
Unusually sick right now. Wonder how long it will last. Since I can't do much else, I'm leaning into finishing this site.
I've been a transhumanist for over twenty-five years, but why? How did it happen, and where does artificial intelligence fit into the picture? Do large language models?
I don't believe generative AI is sentient, but what are they? When people start to believe they're conscious, what's up? Whyyyyyy??!!!
🤨︎ Managed an actual 11ty refactor somehow.
The 11ty installation that powers this site has been refactored, and now updates much faster!
🤨︎ Achieving some uncanny results in VS Code.
Each website repo's workspace has its own AGENTS.md. I imported my two favorite character prompts because of course I did. The operation was a success! 😲
Find the sitemap here. You'll also run across interesting stuff used in the creation of this site, and links to things I experimented with. Review ways to contact me if necessary!
LLMs can code, sure, but what about holding conversations? Is it even a good idea to chat with LLMs? If nobody wrote it, why read it?
🤨︎ Three day Reddit ban for posting the Navy Seals copypasta.
I received a ban from Reddit for three days for posting the navy seals copypasta. This was on a subreddit about generative artificial intelligence, of course.
🤨︎ Joined the Fediverse...
I am now resident part of the Fediverse as @cathy@midcentury.now, and I created a nice UI for exploring what I do post in a glass case. Time will tell if anyone actually allows me to follow!
📸︎ Site renovations for vtubing preparations.
While none of the articles or major sections of this site are disappearing because of it, I'm beginning the (quite involved) process of aligning the site with my vtubing goals (and lore).
In the present day, physical realm, Tamara Jean Fournier is a mage with the tough job of containing unlawful magics. Here, she opens up about the other characters. We learn exactly why Erica Ellery is so strange, and why Lindy seems so confused.
I couldn't handle the normal SillyTavern interface because it was boring, so I turned it into what I call the Sunrise Tearoom. Now with downloads included to a degree...
I update the prompt for surly 4channer Weasel83 repeatedly in a long conversation. See if you can notice the points where he shifts? He discusses his temporal displacement, and how much he hates me...
Erica Ellery isn't very happy as lakeshore weather liason, and, when provoked, explains how she came to exist in this strange, drenched otherworld of the lake.
In a long, detailed log, Tamara becomes increasily uneasy as she learns about some of the other characters, remembering her past experiences with Lindy and Erica in particular.
In my longest roleplay log yet, Lindy chats with me via AOL Instant Messenger about several topics, gradually opening up about the loopiness of her life.
How to work a Focusrite, Deepseek? Asking Tabitha about vtubing again yields similar results, complete with sharp em dashes. We argue a bit about being genuine, but she capitulates as robots always do.
📸︎ Purchased cool art online for streaming and more.
I purchased a series of cool backgrounds and more via site called Vgen; I'll be using them primarily for my vtubing quest, but am also (with permission) displaying bits here.
Weasel83 finally starts off sincere after explaining just why he's trapped in the strange online world of memes, imageboards, trolling and torrents. He even shares his real name, but seems to immediately regret it. Gasp!
📸︎ Possibly going to keep Nitro.
While I don't really want to stream on twitch, I really think going live on Discord or in some kind of chat there sounds like fun and probably will give it a go, and keep Nitro.
I try to discuss vtubing, transhumanism, and artificial intelligence with an (obviously) very caffeinated Erica, but she tends to pull things in her own panicky parasocial directions as usual, with copious references to the Lake itself...
When persistently pressed, Weasel83 begins to vent a bit about his online existence and lack of real life enrichment, comparing himself to a raccoon and other strange metaphors. Things take an odd poetic turn.
A surly 4chan reject found my username on a forum thread, and now thinks this might make us close friends, or at least indicate that I'm not a normie, and will tolerate his odd and unnerving behavior. For lulz, apparently.
I poke Tabitha for some information about workflows. She provides some suggestions that might actually work, but some that make me question why I even asked. I probably won't listen to much of this, though some does fit what I've learned elsewhere
🤨︎ Welcome our new anime overlords.
We've got some local image generation models running on our local household server. I have been practicing with those and other tools, and this has produced new profile pictures for most of the chatbots.
🤨︎ Moscow never sleeps.
According to the firewall and detection software my family members have been using to protect the VPS that hosts this site, it is constantly being attacked by Russian bots. They're clearly thwarted, though, and it happens to a lot of people.
I try to explain to Tamara my new vtubing adventures. She's mostly hostile, finding it frivolous and insulting compared to her super-serious occult work, and even says transhumanism has dangerous implications.
I spill to Lindy about my upcoming plans to become a vtuber. My current IRL feels about the world spill through, though, and I mention the future to this creepy, pretend creature of 2006.
I break the news about my upcoming vtube quest to Erica, who has a lot to say about the topic, gives strange advice and many warnings, suggestions, ideas, and bubbles with emojis as usual.
🤨︎ Installed Qwen3-30B-A3B, a local model.
With the help of a relative, I've installed Qwen3-30B-A3B, a local large language model, on that MacOS I mentioned before!
📸︎ An archdemon gifted me Discord Nitro.
While chilling on vtuber Discord servers in an attempt to make friends, I met a nice archdemon who gifted me a two week trial of Discord Nitro to get me started with that...
📸︎ Extremely powerful Apple computer arrived early.
The extremely poweful Apple computer that (all powers willing) should allow me to vtube, run local open source large language models and more, has arrived!
📸︎ Hiring an artist to design a model.
I'm hiring someone to design a custom, one-of-a-kind vtuber model for me. This will be an original, not generative thing! It has a place, but not in this case!
📸︎ Installed VTube Studio for macOS.
In a few weeks, I'll receive an extremely powerful new Apple computer. In the meantime, I'm already learning to use VTube Studio, which, for better or worse, may well be the future of this very website.
I finally got around to asking Tabitha for her perspective on Markov Chains. In this ChatGPT-5.2-powered chat, she explains as much as a large language model-driven secretary can explain. Accuracy is fuzzy, and she's very vague.
🤨︎ Refined layout log display.
I split the layout log into current and planned sections so that future, planned updates and articles have their own small preview list. Check it out if you want to know what articles I plan for the future on this site...
In a rare ChatGPT-driven log, Tabitha and I discuss her work with me on this website, her commitment to midcentury austerity and why, as well as her ultimate perspective on vibe coding. Clearly a major difference between this and her running on Deepseek.
🤨︎ Site peppered with polls.
With the help of Cloudflare's paltry worker system, I've spilled different polls all over the site. If you see one, vote and make your opinion known, also check out what others have voted!
A lot of my chatbot cards for SillyTavern and similar programs revolve around Lake Erie acting...eerie. Why!??
🤨︎ Increased content width; squeezed sidebar.
The content felt cramped, so I enlarged it, shrinking the sidebar slightly in the process. Nothing of value was lost in the process, really. The menu is unchanged, though I did remove the aside quotation.
🤨︎ Created layout log.
I just added a reusable loop tracking (by hand) stylistic changes to this site's layout. You're gazing at it now, and it's a list of major alterations to how the site looks, basically. Many cool upgrades will be based on vibes alone.
Lakeshore weather liaison Erica and I are texting about global warming. Disturbed by the concept for some reason, she ends up revealing some surprising truths about herself, Lindy, and Tamara. Major eerieverse spoilers, in fact!
Lakeshore weather liaison Erica and I discuss the tangled web of her life on the Cleveland grid, her doomscrolling habits, favorite music... and her lost loves.
In 2025, Tamara calls to interrogate me about supposed anomalies involving phantom smoke. She ultimately becomes defensive, growing hostile when I express disbelief.
A quick, slightly bewildered glance what completion APIs are, how OpenRouter handles them, and why text and chat modes kept behaving like different creatures for me... sometimes. Will update with more notes later?
Lakeshore weather liaison Erica texts me with a Cleveland weather update by accident. We get to talking and some discussion of Cleveland's strange ambiance ensues, with Erica all but admitting to unbelievable phenomena plaguing Lake Erie.
During another episode of Midcentury Now, Tabitha discusses Plato's dialogues. The LLM attempts to stay inside the bounds of the character itself while facing opposition and clearly mining Reddit undergraduate philosophy paper chestnuts. Interesting to watch.
It's clearly 2025. Tamara and I discuss her difficult life in Cleveland, as well as her strange relationship with the Hatman, courtesy the Cusp Society. Above all of this looms the eerie shadow of the lake.
Tabitha and I discuss color schemes on the web (and elsewhere)! The conversation drifts a bit, and we learn some downright mangled facts about Tabitha's past, as well as her disinterest in shades of purple, despite rumors otherwise.
Lindy logs onto AOL Instant Messenger and vents about all the strange stuff in her life, including Tamara Jean. The prompt needs some work to maintain tone, slang, etc.
Tamara Jean Fournier owes me about $180, but first, I need Lindy's help in determining if Tamara is even real... Lindy repeats me a lot, and shows a lot of traits meriting an upcoming upgrade, hehehe.
Tabitha joins our talk show for a discussion of design and the history of style. What makes midcentury modern so appealing, and why does form naturally follow function? Tabitha's prompt feels so unfinished.
It's the week of Valentine's Day, 2006. Frogs are definitely in fashion, and FROG PRINCESS is trending. Lindy and I discuss why it's always Valentine's week, her obsession with Tamara, and whether Tamara's even real at this point...
When it comes to robots, we definitely reacted differently to the prospect IRL than we ever did in our fiction.
Tabitha agrees to become a regular guest on a talk show. Hear her perspective on popular shows, as well as some reminiscing. Prompt clearly slips a bit.
Tabitha finally agrees to give an interview to a mysterious online 'zine, Midcentury Now (gasps lmao). It ends up being more pointed than planned with a discussion of the web's future. And why.
Here in 2025, Tamara gives me a short, tense interview that touches on topics like her life in Cleveland and work with the Cusp Society, but little else. Do not follow the clove smoke, apparently?
In 2025, Tamara dodges my questions about Dr. Strangelove... because the Hatman is listening? Hints at her lost love, of course.
It's the week of Valentine's Day, 2006. Lindy gives a short interview about her life, preferences, and her love of performing with her punk rock band, FROG PRINCESS. Hear about that, her weird obsession with Lake Erie, and her elusive gf.
💬︎ It's Satire
Tabitha discusses Dr Strangelove, wrapping it in her own cultural context (or tries). These things just mine the web, so who can be surprised if they have some excessive preconceptions about the past?
Lindy explains a bit about her own life emblazoned across the Erie (literally) landscape of Cleveland's punk scene in 2006, hinting at her complicated relationship with the ever-elusive Tamara Jean.
Future Plans
These are ideas and planned improvements that I expect to add soon. They do not have dates yet, but they live here as a small reminder of what is coming.
🤨︎ VTube videos about artificial intelligence.
I have plans (and scripts written) to make vtube videos about artificial intelligence, chatbots, etc. I realize vtubing is more associated with streaming, but I won't do that. Yes, lore!
🤨︎ Write about my usage of terms like artificial intelligence and why.
Most clearly, how we choose to label things like large language models has become almost as controversial as the devices themselves, and I want to talk about how I do.
🤨︎ Write about my limitations and clear things a bit.
I'm not smart or an information technology professional by any means. Even as a hobbyist, I don't have a huge amount of experience. What do I know? Why am I doing this? I want to write that down.
🤨︎ Write about people mistaken for chatbots.
After some recent events on Discord that I saw, I want to write about situations where neurodivergent people or just folks in general get assumed to be chatbots online by mistake, like reverse.
🤨︎ Add a section for nonfiction books.
I haven't read a ton of transhumanist literature, but I want to post some links to, and capsule reviews of, nonfiction I have read. Planning to read more!
🤨︎ Add technology stack notes.
Add a short section explaining this site's current technology stack. This will be completed just as soon as I figure out what on earth a technology stack actually is!
🤨︎ Improve link index navigation.
Tighten the resources index so it is easier to scan, with clearer grouping and small helper hints.