Persistence

There is something to be said about it. I have it. After spending a few hours on Chatgpt trying to get my massive amount of blocks together, I found I spent much of the time correcting errors that the AI made. I felt very frustrated. Frustrated enough that I was going to cancel the subscription I had just paid for a few hours ago. However, I thought I would give it one last try, and make my guidelines and rules a little easier to understand. Basically, I just shortened them.

Finally, after what was going to be my last attempt, everything came out the way I wanted it. I had had so many problems that I didn't feel I could trust the Post return to me to be accurate. My idea was to send 10 blogs of one month and have ai process it according to my guidelines. On this last try, everything was perfect. And then compared each block I gave it with its return post. Everything looked good. So, I gave it the next 10 posts, and check those. Again, it was perfect.

I gave it a complete month, and spot checked every 4th blog for accuracy. I regained some Trust in it and gave it the next month. Once again I spot checked, and it was fine.

Over a 2-hour. I was able to give six complete months, and accomplished finishing the year 2021.

Now I have only five more years to complete this project. If it continues the way it is I should have it done by the end or middle of the next week.

This is a very big project, and I could not have accomplished as much doing it by myself. So, in this instance AI was very helpful. When I am completely done, I will cancel this month's subscription.

Gemini & Ukraine.

Yesterday, I got side-tracked from blogging. I spend too much time trying to put it all in order using Gemini AI. It was successful for the first 15 years, but now even one month takes way too long. It makes mistakes even though it has a set of guidelines I gave it to process with. Example: I give it 10 blogs to process, and one guideline is to use my complete text. It processes it, and when I check the post compared to mine, it is not complete. I inform AI of the problem, it apologizes, says it will correct the problem, and reposts. The repost is not different. I tell it, it apologizes again and reposts. The problem is fixed, however, it creates a different problem. This can go on for an hour or more. I have five years of posts to complete the project, but now have to find another way to put them in order. That is the reason my posts have not been daily. 

Meanwhile:Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Air Defense Forces successfully intercepted 148 of 154 Russian drones in a large-scale attack that began Friday evening, March 20, Ukrinform reported.
The assault involved multiple drone types – primarily Shahed-type UAVs alongside Gerbera and Italmas variants – launched from five locations across Russian territory and occupied Crimea. About 90 of the 154 drones were Shahed aircraft.

Ukrainian aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, electronic warfare units, and mobile fire groups coordinated the defense.
Still, five drones struck four locations, with debris scattered across seven additional sites as of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, March 21.
Ukraine launched more than 280 drones at Russia overnight, one of Kyiv’s largest barrages since the start of the war, Russia’s state news agency reported, citing the defence ministry.
Around 90 drones were shot down in the southern Rostov region, its governor Yuri Slyusar posted on Telegram.
Moscow’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin in a series of posts reported that 27 drones headed to the capital had been intercepted.
In retaliation for Russian attacks that have targeted its territory daily since 2022, Kyiv regularly strikes within Russia, saying it primarily targets military and energy infrastructure.Source-Kyiv Post

Easy come, easy go!

That's the way it is with money!  I received 400 PLN($108) this morning, and in two hours it was gone. 130 PLN($35) for toner for my printer and 260($70) PLN for food for next week. It was so high this time because I had to buy Kleenex, toilet paper, olive oil, and paper towels. Those, alone, were 60($17) PLN.

I finished year 2020 of my project today. Only 5 more years to go.

Paige came at 11, so I was able to go out and do the food shopping. I'm a very fast shopper. The most time I have spent gathering the ingredients for the menu Joan has prepared is 45 minutes. As long as they don't rearrange the Carrefour store, it goes quickly.

Still working

It's taking a while to get all of these blogs in chronological order, spelling, grammar, and punctuation checked, but I expect to be done in two weeks. Or, should I say, maybe. 

I've asked Joan to begin selecting the week's menus from the recipes I've collected. She was hesitant to take on the task. I'm just trying to get her away from the TV and keep her brain more active. She stopped reading. I think she needs new glasses. I will make an appointment tomorrow to have her eyes checked, although she will be reluctant to go.

 

Clothes, meds, & gardens.

Yesterday, I stopped at the Look of London store and bought Joan 5 Spring blouses. It coincided with the 5 old ones I donated. I only paid $35 in total.

Today was a trip to the Apteka to get her multi-vitamins and Calperos. Calperos is for the prevention of osteoporosis.

When we were done, we went to the botanical gardens to sit for a while. Very little is showing yet for springtime, maybe in another month if the weather keeps getting warmer. 

Karolina did not come yesterday and is on vacation to Egypt until April. I have the honor now of giving Joan her shower and washing her hair. Her hair is a little concern for me because she seems to be slowly losing it. She doesn't see it yet because it is mainly from the top of her head.

Planting

For Christmas, we received two plants. a Poinsettia and an Ardisia Credata. Now, it's the middle of March, and they are still alive. I hope to keep the growing, so I thought it was time to transplant them to larger pots.

We had to go to Auchan to buy some frozen and dried fruits for morning smoothies. I thought I would check out the gardening section for two bigger pots and buy the extra soil I would need. 5 liters bags were less than $1, so I bought two of them. It was just the amount I needed.

The original pot with the Poinsettia was a clay pot, but the Ardisia was plastic. I took the Poinsettia out of its pot and broke it into smaller pieces. Then I put half of the pieces into the new pots to help with water drainage. They both look happier now.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine;

1.  Russia has launched dozens of missiles and hundreds of drones at Ukraine’s largest oil refinery in an effort to cripple the country’s fuel supply, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a speech in Ukraine’s parliament.

Speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, Shmyhal said the Kremenchuk oil refinery alone had been targeted by 69 missiles and around 260 drones since the start of Russia’s campaign against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“Russia is trying to destroy Ukraine’s energy sector with thousands of missiles and drones, including our oil refining industry,” he said.

 Despite the attacks, Ukraine has managed to stabilize fuel supplies through increased imports, he added.

2.  A spat over huge EU defense loans has erupted into trench warfare between Poland’s pro-European government and nationalist president.

The fiery row over multi-billion-euro plans to beef up its military is unprecedented in a country where there is usually consensus on defense. 

With war raging in neighboring Ukraine, and Russia and Belarus just across the border, frontline Poland has upped its defense budget to 4.8 percent of its GDP, one of the highest in NATO. 

The government is counting on nearly 44 billion euros in European loans from the Security Action For Europe (SAFE) scheme, which it says is a big win for Poland, set to get nearly a third of the total 150-billion-euro pot.

The deal has already passed through parliament, but nationalist President Karol Nawrocki – who could veto it – arguing it will allow Brussels to exert undue pressure on Warsaw through monitoring how funds will be allocated. 

 But the plan is backed by 52 percent of Poles, with only 35 against it, according to a poll by Poland’s Centre for Public Opinion Research. Sources-Kyiv Post

Time & Drones

So, I got a late start. I should write these blog posts in the afternoon, but I'm usually busy until night. Then, at night, when Joan is in bed, I get distracted by something I read, and I have to respond to it. Before I know it, it's past the midnight deadline for the particular blogging program. I've been missing too many writing sessions over the last several months, or I'm just getting tired of writing.

I'm so damn involved with resistance groups against the Trump administration that it takes valuable time away from my learning Spanish.  Now that I've started putting all of my 6,427 blogs from the last 20 years in Poland in chronological order, I'm missing too many writings. So much to do, too little time.

Meanwhile, Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine now has “cards” after the United States asked Kyiv to help protect American military bases in the Middle East from Iranian drones.

Speaking in an interview with Irish blogger Caolan Robertson released on Wednesday, March 11, Zelensky was asked whether Ukraine now has leverage in negotiations.

“Do you think Ukraine has the cards now?” the interviewer asked.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Zelensky replied. “I think yes. But I think that we had them.”

“It’s like a good player,” he continued. “You can have good cards, but it’s not important to show everybody that you have these cards.”

“I think that a year ago we had them. I didn’t show them. But now everybody understands that we have,” he said.

On Monday, Zelensky said Ukraine has sent drone specialists and interceptor drones to help defend US military bases in Jordan from Iranian drone attacks. Zelensky said that the United States requested assistance last week and that a Ukrainian team departed the following day.

 dfgbnhmjn

Nice day & taxes.

Today was another lovely day, so I took Joan to Citadela Park for a nice Cruise around, looking at the people. Being Sunday, there were many people in the park, lots of grandparents with children, and other people. We spent about 2 hours there, and then, because she hasn't been out for a few days, I took her to Cafe Locum for coffee and chesto.

Several of the cafes already have their tables out, even though the official opening day for outside cafes isn't until April 1st. However, with the nice weather we have been having, it's only natural that the cafes are opening up.

After we were done having her coffee, took her for another Cruise down the Main Street of the city. The Main Street was renovated a few years ago and looks exceptionally nice. There is much more room for pedestrians, and they have newly planted trees everywhere.

Yesterday, after correcting a few mistakes in the United States tax forms, I was able to email the forms back to the country. Fortunately, or unfortunately, since our income is so low, we don't owe any money to the government. However, we also don't get any refund.

The next step is to scan our Polish tax forms and send them to cousin Andrzej to complete and send in. Usually, we do get some amount of refund..

Slow progress.

I've been spending way too much time with Gemini putting all 6,427 blogs in chronological order, As of today, I have only gotten to the first half of 2013. The program that Pawel wrote to do that, does it.

However, there is a character limit in Gemini, so the most I can do is one month at a time. I average about 30 blogs per month and each one needs spelling, grammar, separation of paragraphs, eliminate bar lines between blogs, specific font sizes for datelines and text checked.

I gave Gemini a set or guidelines to follow, but during any month, it can alter what it pays attention to. Therefore, I still have to check every month before I add to the continuation of my project. The goal is to have one printable, continuous story of our life here. I already have 250 pages with12 more years to go. Call me crazy for doing it, but on a pen drive, it might be of values to any relative who wants it. Call it an Expats History of Life in Poland. 

We had a good day. I filed our U.S. via email and Joan and I spent 1 1/2 hours, sunning ourselves in Solacki Park. It was a good day to do that and watch the people going by. The of the day,  is was James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon concerts watching. A night of only music. 

 

 

Moon, Party & Haircuts.

I looked at a full moon tonight, and it reminded me of the party we had at our house on New Year's Eve many years ago. The moon was full that night. With snow everywhere on the ground, it was a perfect night to go skiing. We had about 14 guests, and of course, all of them knew how to ski. It wasn't downhill skiing, it was cross-country skiing. About 1:00 a.m., we all put on our skis and left the house. There wasn't any Trail to follow, so it was a random ski to wherever we wanted to go. I think it lasted about an hour and a half, and then we returned home. It was a great New Year's Eve party. Something I will never forget.

Now, at my age and, of course, given the location, there isn't much opportunity to do much cross-country skiing. It's really a pity. Back then, cross-country skiing was a necessity. Since the house I built was located off the main dirt road, it was necessary to park my truck on the side of the main road and then ski to my house.

Now I live in a concrete world, with underground parking, so it's very convenient to get from the car to the elevator, and then up to the floor we live on. I really miss living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I made a mistake today, and didn't know it until it was too late. At 12:45, I put Joan's shoes on, put her coat on her, and drove to the salon for our haircuts. Our appointment was for 1:30. After I finished parking the car, putting down in the wheelchair, and going to the salon across the street, the receptionist came out to greet us. However, she informed me that our appointment wasn't until Thursday. Of course, I was somewhat shocked, but did not disagree with her. I thanked her and said we would return on Thursday. I really don't know how I could have made that mistake.

When I got back home, I checked my schedule, and it said Tuesday, 1:30 hair appointment. Somehow, I must have written on the wrong day.

Raczynski Library, House, Monument

We have lived here 18 years and passed the building where the Raczynski Library is but have never been in it. Today, I remedied that.

Count Edward Raczyński, (April 2, 1786 in Poznan– died January 20, 1845) in Zaniemysl) was a Polish conservative politician, protector of arts, founder of the Raczyński Library and the first aqueduct in Poznan, who also contributed to nature conservation in Rogalin (Oaks of Rogalin).

His son, Edward Raczynski(1891-1993), was a Polish aristocrat, diplomat, politician and the President of Poland in exile.

During the Second World War, the building was demolished with explosives by the Nazi German troops, and nearly all of the library's books (90%) were destroyed in the resulting fire, except for the special collections looted earlier by Nazi Germany.  In 1953, the library was rebuilt according to the project by Janina Czarnecka. In 1994, the library was in possession of around 252,000 books.

Between 2010 and 2013, a new wing of the library was constructed, which helped to better display the library's collections. It was officially opened on 1 July 2013 and covers an area of 11,000 square meters and was co-financed by European Union funds.

Now, the interior is very modern.  Upon entering, you have the option of going up or down. Good news is, if you are disabled, there is a chair lift to each floor.

Going down takes you to the cloakroom to leave your coat or bags with an attendant. There is also a community hangout area.

If you decide to go up, you will find a huge collection of books on different topics as well as a floor with computers you may use. 

After that, I passed by a large old house that, for many years, was neglected and falling apart. Someone of corparation bought it, and now it's been completely renovated. I had to take pictures. 

This house sits across from the monument. God, Honor, Fatherland (Bog, Honoru, Ojczyna). It is the motto of the Polish Army. It is dedicated to many soldiers who died for their country. 

Blog

I've made a count of how many blogs I have written since I started in September of 2006. The total was a little overwhelming. 6,426. That is a large number. I have saved the text of every one of thcould.m to pen drives and to Proton Drive, so I wouldn't lose them. The problem has always been that when I look at a particular month, they are in reverse chronological order.

Several months ago, I asked my IT specialist friend, Pawel, if he could write a program to put them in the right order, with the first blog on top and then the following blogs. During his free time, he worked on it for about two months and developed a usable program. Thank you, Pawel.

However, when it did the reversal, it did not maintain paragraph separation, check spelling, grammar, or punctuation. That meant I had to go through every blog and do that. It was tedious, and after a month and a half, I stopped.

Last week, thinking about how I could accomplish those tasks and decided to see what Gemini could do with a set of guidelines the missing tasks. 

Project Notes: The Poland Memoirs

• Current Narrative Date: Through February 20, 2026.

• Next Milestone: Cousin Kazia’s visit and the "Four Soups" lesson.

• Total Estimated Pages: ~300–350 pages.

• Core Goal: Transforming 20 years of blog archives into a cohesive 300-page book.

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Printing & Formatting Rules (For OpenOffice Compatibility)

To ensure the text pastes correctly as "Default" style with proper spacing and bolding, I will continue to use the following structure:

1. Date/Header: Bolded at the start of each entry (e.g., Monday, September 3, 2007 - First Month!).

2. Paragraph Spacing: A full double-space between every paragraph to prevent "Text Body" merging.

3. Clean Text: No special AI-generated summaries or bulleted lists unless requested.

4. No Code Blocks: Standard text only, as code blocks often force a fixed-width font (like Courier) in OpenOffice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

I gave Gemini 25 blogs to run through the program and checked them all. The tasks were all completed, and I was satisfied with the result. So, I've decided to continue on with Gemini doing the tasks. One year takes about two hours to complete. With 23 years x 2, I hope to be done within one week. Am I crazy? "Still crazy, after all these years. I'm still crazy, after all these years"-P.Simon

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