Have you ever been so fed up with someone that you just had to say, "Enough is enough!"? That’s kind of what happened with the Declaration of Independence *—the document that started the United States of America.   Why Did the Colonies Want Independence? Back in the 1700s, America wasn’t its own country—it was 13 colonies ruled by Britain. The British king, George III, made laws and taxed the colonists without letting them vote on those decisions. The colonists had no say, and they hated the famous phrase: "Taxation without representation." Things got worse with laws like the Stamp Act (tax on paper goods) and the Tea Act (which led to the Boston Tea Party—where colonists dumped tea into the harbor as a protest). Britain responded with harsh punishments, and tensions kept rising.   The Final Straw By 1775, fighting broke out between colonists and British soldiers in Lexington and Concord, starting the American Revolution. Many colonists still hoped for p...

  My name is Frank Austad. I use the moniker of Frank No Mustard or Franken Honest because I value my privacy. Conversely, I also frequently post on a number of social media platforms such as Facebook, Deviant Art (Frank10290), YouTube (@franknomustard), BlueSky, and the Franken Honest blog (hello!) - and also on Substack, look for Frank, No Mustard there! I don’t like being a privacy maniac, but I don't like sharing too much personal information here (or anywhere else, for that matter), either. What I would rather draw your attention to is the importance of public discourse on Science, music, art, and politics. Being a fairly average American, I believe in the right that everyone has to hear my opinion on these and other subjects. However, the purpose of today’s article is to share with you about my loving mother, nurse Dorothy Austad, RN. Mothers are very important to families. I believe that if we showed more respect, caring, dignity, appreciation, and a beholden respo...

Please read this letter all the way through. I would urge that you copy and paste this into an email (or spend the stamp and mail a letter) to your elected representatives. At the bottom of this article are also some other considerations. Dear [Senator/Representative] [Last Name],  I write to you as a concerned citizen deeply troubled by the ongoing abuse of power stemming from President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration, which has been used to justify sweeping deportations, the detention of public officials, and the erosion of constitutional norms. While immigration enforcement is a legitimate function of government, the weaponization of emergency powers to bypass Congress, target political adversaries, and undermine due process represents a dangerous precedent that must be stopped.  Article I of the Constitution grants Congress—not the president—the power to legislate and allocate funds. The National Emergencies Act of 1976 was never intended to be an end-run around congr...

In a stunning display of democracy in action, thousands of Americans took to the streets for " No Kings Day " protests—a nationwide rejection of Donald Trump’s self-coronation as America’s first "President for Life" (or at least, that’s what he seems to be aiming for). The protests were peaceful, spirited, and, most importantly, not attended by a single tank—unlike a certain military parade we all remember.  The People vs. The Parade Let’s talk numbers. The No Kings Day protests saw massive turnouts in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, where crowds waved signs reading "Not My King" and "Democracy Over Dynasty." Meanwhile, Trump’s "I Love Me Some Military Hardware" Parade in Washington, D.C., was about as well-attended as a MAGA rally in downtown Manhattan, which is to say, not very.  The contrast was glorious. On one side, you had Jamie Raskin in Philadelphia, delivering a barnburner of a speech abou...

I constantly find myself arguing with people about your capabilities. My favorite quote is, "LLMs don't know anything. You can only trust them with so much." While I agree with the first sentence, I wonder what I could do to ensure the best output possible from these applications. I think I'm looking for suggestions for different programs that focus on specific areas of expertise. Also, what benefits (if any) would be available to paid subscription tiers? ChatGPT: You're absolutely right to say that “LLMs don’t know anything”—at least not in the traditional sense. They don’t possess knowledge or understanding like humans do. What they do have is access to an enormous amount of training data, patterns, and representations of information, which allows them to generate highly relevant responses based on what users ask. If you're looking to ensure the best output possible , here’s a breakdown of: ✅ How to Get the Best Output from LLMs 1. Know the ...

  To the Esteemed Senators of the United States, My name is Frank Austad. I live in Washington State with my wife, Julie. Our children and grandchildren also live near us. Since the election of the current administration, we have been closely watching the unfolding of national and world events that have caused a significant amount of stress for us and our family. The “big, beautiful bill,” which our president likes to call it, contains components that give my wife and I, as seniors, reason to worry. It also threatens low-income people, such as our teenage grandchildren, who are just starting out to find their way through an already challenging, harsh economic landscape toward a more comfortable standard of living. I am writing to you today, not merely as a constituent of Washington State, but as a deeply concerned parent and American citizen witnessing a critical moment for our nation. The budget bill was recently passed by the House of Representatives and is now before your ...