You can't see it, but its there

 

On making a good roti

"If you want to make good rotis, you must knead your dough well." My mother intoned, as mothers usually do, while casually rolling a roti of her. 

There are many stages to making a roti. Three, however, are obvious - knead the dough, roll the roti, and cook it on the stove. I always thought that the last piece determined how well the roti was going to turn out - how well you cook it on the stove. My mother was turning that on its head. 

"What? How? Why?" 

Mom continued smiling. "See this roti on the stove? It has no powdered flour (atta) on it. Which means it won't dry up later as we store it. It also means that we can cook the roti completely, without the loose flour burning on the surface of the roti. 

For that to happen, you should be able to roll the roti without needing too much powdered flour. 

For that to happen, your dough should be well kneaded and fresh. You girls think a round roti is a cosmetic thing. It's not. The dough needs to roll just so - so the roti turns out thin at the edges and thicker near the center.  That's how we get the round shape. When the roti is thick at the center and thin at the edges, you don't end up with raw edges after cooking. 

But that thin at the edges and thick at the center will not happen if you take your rolling pin and use it to torture the dough. Your dough must dance under the pin." 

"And how will the dough do that?" 

"When you are kneading, don't stop after adding a little water and making a small clump of dough. Add a little water and knead it more. And then again, until your atta has absorbed the water and is happy with itself. When it is ready, it will leave the sides of the vessel in which you are kneading it. Then, the dough is ready. Don't store it. Roll it then. And you will find it dancing on the board. Once you knead the dough right, the rest will be effortless." 

She signed off with a smile. 

That was the day I learnt that if you want a good roti, you must knead your dough well, even when it appears as if it is done and doesnt need any more kneading. But once you do that foundational work, the rest is easy. 

 

And one more listing.. at Foyles UK!

 

I periodically google Probe8 to see if there are any reviews, etc. 

And each time, it is such a pleasant surprise to find a new listing by at least one more private book store. 

This time, It is Foyles - one of UK's largest book stores!! 

The other thing that is great is that one gets to know about these amazing book sellers in various parts of the world! 

Probe8 is now listed on Foyles UK. Do get a copy! :) 

Why Gen AI is not ready for monetisation, and won't be for a long time

 Grok is already paid, Chat GPT has a pro version, and Gemini is considering a premium version.

But none of these Big Tech companies is willing to assume any liability for anything incorrect - even blatant lying - churned out by their pro versions.

I think it is wayyy too premature to monetise Gen AI.

Here are three major things that need to be resolved before Gen AI can be monetised:

1. Big Tech has not yet addressed the issue of compensating creators for using their work to train AI. While C2PA now makes it possible for all creators to forever mark their work, Big Tech is not likely to volunteer that it is using any of this work for its personal, commercial use. And copyrighted content they have already used remains unpaid as on date.

2. They have also not addressed another major issue - who owns the copyright to work generated using AI? If the watermarks are anything to go by, Big Tech might start to copyright content generated through its engines.

3. The third thing they have not addressed is liability for abuse - we are aware of deepfakes and their use in crime, of course. But there are other ways to abuse Gen AI. We obviously cannot expect Big Tech to take any responsibility, but then, who does?

Until these issues are resolved, imho, regulators should expressly prohibit monetisation of Gen AI.

There is a concept called "fit for human consumption" - it is a state that a product has to reach before it can be given to humans. Gen AI, imho, has not reached that state yet.

The Putin interview with Tucker Carson

Putin: Who blew up the Nordstream? You personally might have an alibi but the CIA has no such alibi. 

************* 

You know in the war of propaganda it is very difficult to defeat the United States because the United States controls all the world's media and many European media. 

********** 

Tucker: Do you think Zelinsky has the freedom to negotiate an end to this conflict? 

Putin: Why not? He came to power on the expectations of the Ukrainian people that he would lead Ukraine to peace. 

More private book stores list Probe8

 Alibris.com listing - USA 

Tertulia.com listning (USA) 

Saxo.com: 

Saxo.com is Denmark's largest online bookstore!

Bookscape.com in India: 

Fishpond in New Zealand: 

 

Today, I found out that Denmark's largest online retailer for books has listed Probe8!! This is truly a phenomenal achievement! 

I also found that we have been listed in New Zealand as well. 

There are more online bookstores listing the book in the US and India! 

This is amazing! What is even more amazing is that this is all happening on its own. That more and more private book sellers are listing the book is very very nice to see. :) 

Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Big Tech and Child Exploitation Online

Question: Do you think your users really understand what they are giving to you - all of their personal information, and how you process it, and how you monetise it? Do you think people really understand? 

Mark: I think people understand the basic terms. <Clearly, he means, no, they don't, and my fortune depends on it.>