MidJourney - Generating a robotic woman

 Flooded with AI-generated images, some art communities ban them completely

Smaller art communities are banning image synthesis amid a wider art ethics debate. via AmberMac

It’s not easy generating a robotic woman, as shown in the article, using the same prompt. 

Prompt: 

Beautiful crying! female mechanical android!, half portrait, intricate detailed environment, photorealistic!, intricate, elegant, highly detailed, digital painting, artstation, concept art, smooth, sharp focus, illustration, art by artgerm and greg rutkowski and alphonse mucha (Seed 79409656)

Here’s my first try with MidJourney.

Then a Variation of #3, Upscaled, Beta upscaled, Remastered, and Upscaled.

MidJourney LEGO Interiors

Testing out LEGO image creation with MidJourney. /imagine prompt: Lego 3D scene, home interior perspective —testp

Trader Joe’s Vegan Bolognese Pasta with White Wine and Grape Tomatoes

Trader Joe’s Vegan Bolognese Pasta with White Wine and Grape Tomatoes

Trader Joe’s Vegan Bolognese Pasta
White Wine
Grape Tomatoes

Combine ingredients and heat on stove over low heat.
Combine with pasta and serve.

Monet meets Van Gogh at the beach under a starry night. via Midjourney

 

Midjourney: How To Upscale, Make Variations, and Upscale to Max

How To Upscale, Make Variations, and Upscale to Max:

Here I used the upscale button U1, for the top left image from my last post. Then I clicked on Make Variations to get four new variations of that upscaled image. 

Next, I chose Upscale to Max, and this is the result:

Here's an excerpt on upscaling from the Midjourney Quickstart Guide:

 Upscale Your Image or Create Variations

After a 2x2 grid of images has finished generating, two rows of buttons will appear:

In the top row: U1, U2, U3, and U4 are buttons for Upscaling your chosen image. Upscaling an image generates a larger roughly 1024x1024 pixel version of the selected image. By default, this will also generate additional details.
In the bottom row: V1, V2, V3, and V4 are buttons for creating Variations of your chosen image. Creating variations will generate four new images, similar in overall style and composition to the image you selected.

The order used by the numbered buttons (U,V) to select an image

After you use a 'U' button to upscale, you will have a few more options:

Here we used the U4 button, upscaling the bottom right image

Midjourney: Hello World

/imagine Prompt Hello World

I'm excited to share my first Midjourney creation after signing up for the monthly $10 plan. 

It's always comforting to successfully complete the standard programmer's first program, "Hello World".

Read the Midjourney Quickstart Guide for an overview.

Here's how to create an image:

- Go to one of the "newbie" bot channels. See attached screenshot: https://s.mj.run/newbie - Type /imagine and then whatever you want - The bot will send you 4 images in 60 seconds - Click numbered buttons underneath to get upscales (U) or variations (V) - Go to https://s.mj.run/feed to see the trending images from the community

The Boston Globe has a QR code in today’s newspaper.

The Boston Globe has a QR code in today’s newspaper. 

I’ve been waiting for this for 10 years. LOLQR Code Example for Boston Globe Articles 1/25/12The Boston Globe - The metaverse is a ‘new economy.’ Should businesses care? 6/11/22

NFTs are a scam, built on top of crypto, which is a Ponzi scheme hidden behind a curtain of deception.

NFTs are a scam, built on top of crypto, which is a Ponzi scheme hidden behind a curtain of deception.

Me: Computer generated NFTs of poorly drawn apes with ill-fitting artificial appendages are ugly.

NFT Fan: It’s not about the NFT, it’s about the (Discord) community.

Me: Have you seen the Wizard of Oz?

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” the “Wizard” yells in vain. He has been discovered and they see him for who he really is.

NFTs are ugly, worthless computer generated bad art, based on top of a Geppettoed together blockchain system that feels like it’s foundation is built on top of a spite-bank programmed in BASIC by a fictional Larry David character, that’s powered by massive energy consuming and environment destroying off-brand computer farms sitting in off-shore countries run by faceless enterprises.

The blockchain’s links are as weak as Olive Oyl’s pencil-thin arms, and we see daily examples of Mary Kay scammers losing their money as they try to exploit holes in the system only to end up exploited by their own greed.

How long would gas fees, crypto transaction fees, exist if we had to pay exorbitant gas fees to buy gasoline?

Influencers are influenced to get in early, and use their influence to influence others to get in late to the Ponzi party.

What’s their Kred* now?

Bundle Up New England Webpage Needs a Clickable URL

NBC 10 Boston has a promotion called Bundle Up New England.  This is what the webpage says:

"While you're out buying coats, hats and mittens for your holiday gift list, please think about donating.

All you have to do is open your phone to scan the QR code below, which will take you to the Amazon "Bundle Up" gift registry." 

They have neglected to place a clickable URL to the Amazon "Bundle Up" gift registry on the webpage. 

I'm on your webpage with a computer. Give me a link to click!

I scanned the QR code with my phone, went to the Amazon "Bundle Up" gift registry on the webpage, copied the link, emailed it to myself, and copied and pasted it into this blog post for you. 

Here is the Amazon "Bundle Up" gift registry link:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3RIM90K6QZBM1/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex

UPDATE: 

They saw this post and added a clickable link. 

Great!

I ordered a bunch of jackets. ;-)

Boston Water and Sewer Promotes Autopay!

 

NEST Thermostat Install (Replacing Aprilaire)

In Massachusetts, see if you are eligible to get a discounted NEST thermostat ($29.99) and a FREE Google Mini through MASS SAVE.

Installation was easy. 

Note: Contact an electrician to install this for you if you are not comfortable working with electricity,

In my configuration I had to keep track of Yellow, Blue, White, Green and Red. 

The only tricky thing occurred when the Google Home install app told me that I was not getting power from the C wire (The Blue one). I checked its connection, then replaced the batteries that came with the NEST thermostat, and everything worked. 

German Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies

 

I loved the German Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies from Lucas Confectionery that we had at Natalie and David’s Rehearsal Dinner. 

Now trying to recreate the recipe based on this one…

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/10245/oatmeal-chocolate-coconut-chewy/

I modified it by only using 1/4 cup of sugar and substituting one cup of semi sweet chocolate chips with one cup of dark chocolate discs cut up with a knife.

I also wrap the dough and parchment paper and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

  

The Best Grilled Salmon

These are very good tips. I used olive oil and an electric grill/fryer with a cover (affiliate link, see photo below)

“The Best Grilled Salmon | foodiecrush.com #salmon #recipes #grilled

What Side Do You Grill Salmon On First?

Grill the salmon first skin side down. Whichever variety of salmon you choose, choose a filet or salmon cut with the skin on. The salmon skin provides a layer of safety between the grill grates and the fish’s flesh as it cooks.

Keep a lid on it. Maintain a more consistent cooking temperature with the grill lid covering the fish as it cooks, creating the same environment as an oven.

Flip the Salmon Once On the Grill

Flip once, and you’re done. To ensure the the fish holds together and doesn’t fall apart or stick to the grill grates, grill the salmon skin-side down for 90% of the cooking time.”