iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 5h

I'm thinking the courts are going to take an extremely dim view of this case.

mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

I think it's more "instinctively" humiliating him. Putin regards Trump, correctly, as a dimwitted fool, and can't think of any other way to treat him.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

Events are breaking through their barrier of self-delusion.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

Considering how counterproductive Trump's electioneering has been for the GOP as of late, Trump may be doing a lot to MAKE it a lost cause.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

"Nano Banana" is the Google graphics generator, BTW.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

Incidentally, my online chat went deep south. I concede that AI has massive problems, but I find it is highly effective -- as long as I realize what it can and cannot do. I also know perfectly well that any positive view of AI, however constrained, provokes rage online. "C'est la vie." [END]

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

Gemini concluded: "Google's architectural optimizations and ad placement strategies have turned Gemini in Search into a manageable, highly strategic cost of doing business." Google says it's cost effective, and I have no cause to challenge that statement.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

In addition, Google places high-value ads in the AI summaries, giving them a revenue stream in themselves -- and the massive number of searches end up being (somehow) used as training data, giving Gemini an advantage over competing LLMs.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

Add to this, Google's servers use proprietary Tensor Processing Units (TPU), making them substantially cheaper than servers using open-market AI chips. Still, AI means more overhead, so why does Google bother? Basically, because Google has to meet the competition, which is also moving to AI.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

That translates to low costs. For more difficult queries, Flash can be called in; its overhead is moderate. Apparently, Search could call in high-overhead Pro-level LLMs if necessary -- but that's going away, in part because Flash-Lite and Flash have become more powerful.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

If the user wants, a straight AI answer can be provided, which includes links to relevant material, and may end with a link to a YouTube video on the topic. In any case, Flash-Lite has low overhead and can handle the bulk of simple queries.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

When a user feeds Gemini Search a query, it determines if conventional Search can do the job -- incidentally, conventional Search has used AI for over a decade. Except for basic queries, a brief AI summary may be added after the primary search results.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

There are specialized subsidiary LLMs like Nano Banana; non-graphical queries and the like are handled by a hierarchy of LLMs, with the workhorse "Flash-Lite" at the bottom, "Flash" above that, and then a set of "Pro" LLMs.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

Gemini replied: "While LLM inference is vastly more expensive than traditional keyword indexing, Google has engineered a strategy to make the integration sustainable and economically viable." One of the keys that Gemini is not a single LLM, but a system of LLMs.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

The reply was that even Google can't make money at AI. I was skeptical of that claim -- Google is no gang of saints, but the company makes carefully calculated business decisions, Sundar Pichai being no Elon Musk -- and so I asked Gemini if Gemini Search was cost effective.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

... and the smaller players, like OpenAI, will not. As has been pointed out by others, is Google poised to be on top in the new era, because it's successfully integrated its Gemini LLM into its offerings, most notably in Search.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 6h

DAYLOG WED 14 OCT 26 / GEMINI DOMINANCE: I got into a chat online about the impending burst of the AI bubble. I suggested that AI was so resource-intensive that it was inherently monopolistic; when the bubble bursts, only the big players will survive ...

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Reposted by mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO

Jay Kuo @nycjayjay.bsky.social · 7h

This is why Elon Musk now thinks Zelenskyy has “gone too far” btw. Quite telling.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 8h

Unfortunately for Zelenskyy, in his current role he has to totally serious at all times. We can only see glimmers of the humor.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 8h

Hey, I could say the same for myself, and I'm nothing special.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 8h

However, I'm thinking enthusiasm for Graham is low, and a lot of them won't take the trouble to vote.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 9h

Yeah, I'm a little surprised she's doing as well as she is.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 9h

Aw c'mon, you've been online a long time -- you know a lot of posters just charge ahead blindly.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 9h

We never had a president remotely as calamitous as Trump. In hindsight, the dumpster fire train wreck we got with his second administration was inevitable. This is the apocalypse of the GOP. They don't have anyone with as much stature as he does. "Apres Trump, le deluge."

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 11h

Our concern is getting rid of Boebert. Any other consideration is secondary.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 12h

I don't think [David] is really on our side. I was suspicious from the outset: *There's no chance for Laubacher to win in Right-wing district -- a flaming radical would do better.* Given the alternative is Boebert, no Dems here in CO 4 will refuse to vote for Laubacher.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 12h

True or not, here in CO 4 it makes no difference. ALL the Dems here are voting for Laubacher. The idea of Boebert getting another two years in the House is all the energizing we need.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 12h

Yeah, I'm thinking part of Laubacher's strategy is to avoid hot-button "culture war" issues so that a lot of people won't feel motivated to bother to vote against her. Very few people are excited to vote for Boebert.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 13h

I dunno, it would be entertaining to see the Dems completely bust up a Trump rally. However, you're right: it would probably cost us more than it would be worth.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 13h

Yeah, that's the whole Trump era summed up: amoral and corrupt on one side of the coin -- ignorant, dimwitted, and incompetent on the other side. They've got nobody even as significant as Trump. When he goes, they've got nothing left.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 13h

One of the many appalling traits of Hegseth is that he has no doubts. He orders killings for no valid reason, and is too dimwitted to ever wonder if he's doing very wrong things.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 13h

Incidentally, further investigation into the greater resilience of Ukrainian data centers suggests the major reason is that there is no one big player like Yandex in Ukraine, just lots of little ones. They have resources out of country, and have been going literally underground for protection.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 13h

Elon Musk was very upset with the strikes -- and it seems the loss of traffic to Xitter -- that he proclaimed Ukraine had gone "too far", then imposed restrictions on Ukrainian Starlink usage.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 13h

COMMENTS: Later reports claim that there was no real drop in troll traffic from the Yandex strikes, it was just a drop in web crawlers. I'm sure there was, but there were also reports from monitoring groups on the loss of troll traffic.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 14h

Old style GOP, before corrupt Jim Crow took over.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 14h

Yeah, exactly. Transfolk bashing is ignorant and mean -- but more significantly, it's just gaslighting to distract from GOP incompetence and corruption. Dr. Abdul's got it right: they bash transfolk, we answer: *What about your corruption?!* Don't snap at the bait.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 15h

Yeah, I like it, but it could lead to some serious violence. Still ... I'd really enjoy seeing a big gang of Dems invade a Trump rally and reduce it to chaos. Trump would come totally unglued.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 15h

I'm getting two opposed stories: [1] Gemini is integrated into the Google system and is cost-effective. [2] They're lying. And that is my take-away for today.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 15h

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out the fine points of blocks. I think if I block somebody, then all their replies to me are hidden from everyone else.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 16h

Does that mean "operating at a loss" or "reduced profit margins"? BTW, Google Search has been AI-based for over a decade. It just used traditional ML tech, not an LLM.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 16h

I was just talking to Gemini about solid-rocket fuels, and learned that small battlefield rockets still use double-base propellants. I was surprised, but it explained why. BTW, the original issue was that Google AI + search is not cost-effective. Google thinks it is. Prove they're lying.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 16h

The quality of information is at least at the level of Wikipedia. Which is not perfect, but it's like Wikipedia I can converse with. Yesterday I asked why Ukraine's data centers are less vulnerable than Russia's. Best part of answer: no big players in Ukraine, lots of little ones.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 17h

I asked Google if Gemini + Search was cost-effective. Try it; the answer is most informative: "Google's architectural optimizations and ad placement strategies have turned Gemini in Search into a manageable, highly strategic cost of doing business."

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 20h

Everything I see here tells me that if I had to bet, I'd bet Laubacher wins. I just wouldn't take odds. She doesn't have to veer Left, because all Left voters really want to get rid of Boebert.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 20h

Google's strategy is to integrate Ai into its tech ecosystem. Google search is now (carefully) integrated with Gemini. It's an element of the collective revenue stream.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Yeah, in places like here in CO 4, which is the reddest part of Colorado, the "take no prisoners" approach won't work. I'm backing Laubacher against Boebert. I think Laubacher will win, but it's not a sure thing.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Yeah. It's not working for them any more.

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mrg / greg v goebel / NAFO @gvgoebel.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I recall that when he was running six years ago, there were a lot of femmes online uninhibitedly drooling over him. Must be nice!

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