Brand-new AI tool wrote impressive retirement toast

The following teacher retirement toast was almost instantly generated by ChatGPT, a brand-new artificial intelligence (AI) natural language processing tool which was just released in a stabilized form to the public on May 12, 2023.

A friend in Florida decided to try it out. She only “told” ChatGPT to create a retirement toast for her friend Sandra who had taught high school English for years.  She added “Some humor would be nice.”  It’s unsettling how quickly ChatGPT created this surprisingly well-crafted retirement toast. – The editor

Ladies and gentlemen,

Gather ‘round, for today we celebrate the retirement of an extraordinary individual who has graced the halls of academia with wit, wisdom, and a whole lot of English charm.  I raise my glass to our dear friend Sandra, the Queen of Quills and the Maestro of Metaphors!

Now, if you’ve ever had the privilege of being in Sandra’s class, you know that she can make Shakespeare come alive like nobody else.  From dissecting sonnets to deciphering the mysteries of iambic pentameter, she has enlightened generations of high schoolers with her infectious passion for literature.  And let’s not forget those memorable grammar lessons! Oh, the joy of correcting misplaced modifiers and dangling participles!

But it wasn’t just her knowledge and expertise that made Sandra an exceptional teacher.  No, she had a special gift for turning even the most mundane topics into hilarious adventures.  Who could forget her rendition of Romeo and Juliet with sock puppets?  Or her infamous “grammar police” hat that made students quiver in fear and laughter?

Sandra’s dedication went far beyond the classroom.  She was a constant source of support and encouragement, helping her students navigate the challenges of high school with grace and humor.  Countless aspiring writers owe their success to her keen eye for storytelling and her ability to nurture their creativity.

So, my friends, let us raise our glasses to Sandra, the wordsmith extraordinaire!  As she embarks on this well-deserved retirement, may her days be filled with endless novels, tea sipped from literary mugs, and grammar-free relaxation.  May she never run out of puns or metaphors, and may the stacks of books on her nightstand never cease to grow.

Here’s to Sandra, the master of prose, the conqueror of syllabi, and the bringer of laughter!  May her retirement be a joyous chapter filled with adventures, writing endeavors, and a well-deserved break from grading essays.  We thank her for her years of dedication and wish her a future as bright as the literary classics she so adores.

To Sandra, the teacher we’ll never forget, and the friend we’ll always cherish.  Cheers!

Ancient Cherokee engraving of thumb-sucking baby
By Mary Joyce, website editor

Even the avid artifact hunter who found this curious engraved stone was shocked to see this image of a thumb-sucking baby.

“Richard hunts the Little Tennessee River a lot,” Shook explains. “At one time, there were villages all along this river, almost its entire length.  He found this engraved artifact south of Coweeta which was a huge Cherokee village. He just stumbled on it and brought it to us to see.  None of the members of the Macon County Historical Society have ever seen anything like it. As with all his finds, Richard donated it to our museum about a year ago.”

“Richard did some research on the stone engraving himself,” Shook adds.  “He found a story that the Indians would heat it with fire and put it on a pregnant woman’s belly while she was giving birth to take the pain away.”

Beautiful robots embodied with Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing at a skyrocketing pace and is being implanted in some very human-like robots like the ones shown above.  If you’d like an easy to understand crash course in the mindblowing possibilities of robotic advances, watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNlgfvtS5qw

EMAIL IN QUESTION: “Since then, I have watched some of the most informative videos on YouTube in scientific analysis of the 2000-year-old textile.  Using the most sophisticated techniques in spectral light, scanned imaging and 3-D mapping in the last few years, the most extraordinary artifacts on the human figure itself are shown - a necklace, a girdle of a rabbi, and a floral wreath placed on the head before burial.

“Also, DNA of the blood was found to be AB negative and from the matriarchal line to an ancient sect of Hebrews that well could account for Jesus to have had light eyes and light reddish-brown hair. . .”

Dear Warren,

This is another case of claims being made that are not supported by any scientific data. After 120 years of intense study, I am always suspect of claims being made about secondary images on the Shroud that “no one has ever seen before.” This is now the most studied artifact in history and every square centimeter of that cloth has undergone intense scrutiny. If any of these secondary images were actually there, they would have been “discovered” long ago.

The late Ray Rogers, STURP chemist from Los Alamos National Laboratory, frequently reminded me that “I think I see… is NOT a scientific statement.” He was correct. If everything people have claimed to have found on the Shroud were actually there, there would be no room left for Jesus!

Flowers were not a part of Jewish burial customs. The Man of the Shroud was completely naked and not wearing any “girdle.” No DNA analysis has ever been formally authorized or published in any scientific literature. However, an unauthorized test was done in 1995 (by a qualified researcher) that found the blood was very old and degraded and concluded that consequently, no DNA profile could be obtained. It determined the blood was of a male with normal chromosomes. However, it is actually more complicated than that. I am including below some information I send out when DNA questions arise.

I hope this is helpful. Sadly, so many false claims are being made about the Shroud on the internet these days, it is impossible to challenge them all. I hope this is helpful.

Warmest regards,
Barrie

Evidence Shroud of Turin is not a fake
By Mary Joyce, website editor

At the last minute but in time for Easter, I posted a bit of information on my Facebook page about the Shroud of Turin that is not commonly known.  A number of people responded to the posting but I found the following one worth sharing on this website:

“I have been interested in the Shroud of Turin since 1979 when working for one of the largest photographic labs on the East Coast in Philadelphia, PA.  I was employed as a photo restoration artist. Berry & Homer (the company) received the contract to reproduce photos of the Shroud for its members in The Shroud of Turin Project. 

“I had never seen such detailed photos and was convinced the image was a miracle since its most significant details were in the negative image.  You can’t fake that.

“Since then, I have watched some of the most informative videos on YouTube in scientific analysis of the 2000-year-old textile.  Using the most sophisticated techniques in spectral light, scanned imaging and 3-D mapping in the last few years, the most extraordinary artifacts on the human figure itself are shown - a necklace, a girdle of a rabbi, and a floral wreath placed on the head before burial.

“Also, DNA of the blood was found to be AB negative and from the matriarchal line to an ancient sect of Hebrews that well could account for Jesus to have had light eyes and light reddish-brown hair.  What a wonderful time to learn these things.  Happy and blessed Easter.” - Anita Jo Intenzo

MY ORIGINAL FACEBOOK POSTING:

A BOTANIST, ADHESIVE TAPE AND A WEED
HELPED AUTHENICATE THE SHROUD OF TURIN

The Shroud of Turin is one the most studied objects in the world and has been examined by a host of scientific experts from such institutions as ● Los Alamos National Scientific Laboratories ● NASA ● Sandia Laboratories ● U.S. Air Force Weapons Laboratories ● Brooks Institute of Photography and ● world-respected universities in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. 

DR. MAX FREI, an eminent Swiss criminologist and botanist who studied the Shroud, found the burial cloth contained a large amount of debris that accounted for 10 percent of the Shroud’s total weight.   WITH ADHESIVE TAPE AS HIS TOOL, he lifted debris samples from the cloth and then examined them under a microscope.

Dr. Frei concluded that 75% OF THE DEBRIS on the Shroud was the remains of plants found in Palestine, but it really got his attention when he found pollen of TUMBLEWEED THISTLE THAT ONLY BLOOMS IN AND AROUND ISRAEL between March and May which helps confirm the April date for the Crucifixion. 

This information is included in my book “Tangible evidence of Jesus left behind for us to find” which is available on Amazon. – Mary Joyce

MY RESPONSE TO A MAN WHO SAID THE SHROUD WAS A FAKE:

Debate about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin will probably go on forever.  Here are some of the twists and turns about it:

For almost 2,000 years, the Shroud of Turin was believed to be authentic.  Then in 1988, tiny swatches were cut from the Shroud and sent to laboratories in several countries for carbon dating.  All the results dated the samples between 1260 and 1390 AD.  The conclusion at that time was the Shroud of Turin was a medieval forgery.

Those results shook the Christian world, but the Shroud’s authenticity was redeemed when researchers realized the swatches were cut from the edge of the Shroud.  That was significant because in December 1532 there was a fire in the chapel where the Shroud was kept in a silver chest.  The fire melted the chest and burned parts of the Shroud.  The Clarisas nuns then carefully patched the holes in the Shroud and stitched on a backing to give it support. That repair and all the smoke from the fire seem to have been responsible for the false medieval dating of the Shroud.

Then last year a new type of X-ray testing was done which once again confirmed that the Shroud did originate about 2000 years ago.  So, the debate goes on.

Alien black box mystifies NASA
By Mary Joyce, website editor

While on a trolley tour of Old St. Augustine in Florida, I got into a conversation with another tourist.  When he told me he was from Huntsville, Alabama, I asked if he worked there for NASA.  Yes, he answered.  He had recently retired from the space agency.

As the conversation continued, I gave him my Sky Ships Over Cashiers business card and asked if he had ever seen or had knowledge of UFOs.  As expected, he hesitated and then said he couldn’t talk about it, BUT after another pause, he said there was a black box of alien origin that nobody could ever figure out.

He used his hands when he mentioned the black box.  If his hand measurements were accurate, the mystery box was approximately a foot-square cube.  After that, the conversation ended and the trolley rolled on leaving me in a cloud of questions.

The Green Bank Observatory is located at 155 Observatory Road in Green Bank, WV.
Learn more at the greenbankobservatory.org website.

Illustration of Pazyryk warrior – Skull of Pazyryk person who survived brain surgery
Successful brain surgery thousands of years ago
By Mary Joyce, website editor

As the world thaws, ancient relics are emerging, like the above skull found in the thawing permafrost in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, Russia.  It was exhumed from a burial site of the Pazyryk people who were nomads during the Iron Age which is roughly 2600 to 3200 years ago. Surprisingly, the skull shows clear evidence that the individual continued to live for years after the surgery.

The individual endured a surgical process called trepanation which is a high-risk medical procedure where a hole is drilled into a human skull.  It most likely was done to relieve brain swelling or a hematoma caused by a head injury according to neurosurgeons working with anthropologists and archeologists who made the discovery.

NOTE:  This discovery was first reported by the The Siberian Times.

Alien befriended ancient Chinese King

Researcher and author Yin Zhe diligently combed through Chinese dynastic writings searching for ancient UFO sighting reports. Many were found, but the following one stands out because it’s about an alien befriending King Zhou Mu who reigned for 38 years, from 956 to 918 BC. 

Below is the translation of King Zhou Mu’s unique story. It was translated by Yin Zhe and included in his book “Aliens and UFOs in Ancient China.” – The editor

“During the time of King Zhou Mu, there was a mysterious figure from the west who was unaffected by the elements, had alchemical abilities, had the ability to pass through rocks and mountains, and displace whole city in one piece and ability to fly. The entity possessed multiple talents, with skills to change form of things and affect the mind.

“King Zhou Mu worshipped this entity and gave him the best residence available, providing him with offerings, sacrifices, hostesses. The entity did not fancy the lodging, food and the women, which caused King Zhou Mu to rebuild the lodging with finest ornate craftsmanship.

“The state’s resources are dwindling and finally the ‘Watchtower’ was completed.  This building was about 1000 ren (3.2 km) tall and situated at the Zhong Nan peak.  It was called ‘the Midheavens Tower.’

“The finest women were selected to perform songs and finest cuisines were offered. The entity was still reluctant but obliged to stay in this place.”

“Not long after, he invited King Zhou Mu for a tour, and the latter grabbed the entity’s robe and they flew to the original home palace of the entity.  The palace was bedazzling and astonished the King Zhou Mu as his own palace cannot compare to this spectacle and felt that perhaps he was in heaven.

“He felt like he had lived for several decades without care and concern for his own home.  The entity invited the King to another tour, and he ended up in a void without sun and moon, without rivers and sea, confusing his sight and hearing, and feeling uncontrollable sensations in his body.  Then he begged the entity to bring him back to his own palace. The entity gave him a push into a void and he returned to his palace with servants and ministers around him when he opened his eyes, and they claimed he was ‘tripping’ for a while.

“In the next few months, the king was frequently in daze and queried the entity.  The entity then answered ‘What are the differences between your palace and mine, your gardens and mine? You are used to material things and now you are shown the true illusive nature.  Can you grapple with the true nature of the cosmos?’”