Timard

On this day, 2026,08,01, ChatGPT Health has just announced a new private experience within its chatbot that lets users pull up their medical records and fitness app data. ChatGPT has a long-standing history in health and fitness information.  Health chats will get their own memory and stronger encryption for privacy.  OpenAI is committing not to use those conversations for training purposes. OpenAI just recently released from their system that shows 40M+ users turn to ChatGPT daily for all sorts of health and fitness information.  I am guilty of such inquiries on health and fitness, along with just general information. Pulling up actual medical records is currently only available to U.S. users, but that is not entirely true.  These platforms have been available in Canada for many years now.  OpenAI's ChatGPT has been a great source of information on any subject since it appeared with the first version made widely available by OpenAI, which was launched on Novemb...

 What is Arthritis Arthritis is a general term for conditions that cause pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints, the areas where two or more bones meet, such as the knees, fingers, hips, or spine. There are more than "100 different types" of arthritis, but the most common ones are: 1. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type, often called “wear-and-tear” arthritis. It happens when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of bones breaks down over time, leading to pain and reduced movement. 2. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, causing inflammation that can damage cartilage and bone. Other types include gout, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. Common symptoms: Joint pain, tenderness, or swelling. Stiffness (especially in the morning or after rest). Reduced range of motion. Warmth or redness around a joint. Fatigue (in inflammatory types like RA). While arthritis has no...

The Rundown: Amazon just introduced Alexa.com, a new browser-based interface that brings its newly AI-infused Alexa+ assistant to the web, directly challenging rivals like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok in the chatbot space. The details: Early Access users can access Alexa+ through any browser for research, writing, and planning tasks, marking a first-time extension beyond devices. Alexa+’s agentic capabilities expand with companies like Expedia, Yelp, Angi, and Square joining Uber and OpenTable for reservations, services, and more. Amazon says engagement has surged since the Alexa+ rollout, with users shopping and cooking with the assistant at 3-5x previous rates. The Alexa mobile app is also getting a chatbot-first redesign, elevating conversational AI as the main feature instead of leaving it buried in menus. Why it matters: Amazon's massive investment in Anthropic makes this chatbot push a bit strategically awkward, with the company betting billions on Claude while also tryi...

40M+ people use ChatGPT daily for health advice, no way. The Rundown:  OpenAI just released a new report revealing that over 40M people globally turn to ChatGPT for health information daily, with over 5% of all messages now related to healthcare topics.  I, Tim, am guilty of such action in the past few years, not just months! Common uses include symptom checking, decoding medical jargon, spotting billing errors, and preparing for doctor visits. 70% of health-related chats happen outside normal clinic hours, with around 600K weekly messages coming from rural "hospital deserts." Users send 1.6-1.9M health insurance questions weekly, covering plan comparisons, billing disputes, and claim appeals. The report also included policy proposals urging the FDA to create clearer pathways for AI medical devices. Why it matters: Healthcare is clearly already a massive AI use case, and with wearable integrations, medical breakthroughs, and Open AI push for clearer FDA pathways, it's onl...

Imaging that if you will! SpaceX is lowering its Starlink mega constellation from 550 km to 480 km this year,  not for better internet, but to stop satellites from crashing into each other and triggering a wave of space junk. The change will apply to around 4K Starlink units currently flying at the higher orbit and is expected to be completed within the year. Flying lower increases atmospheric drag, which cuts collision risk and pulls dead satellites out of orbit faster. Starlink now flies roughly 10K satellites, beaming broadband to everyone from homeowners to governments and Fortune 500s across multiple continents. This is a rare example of Starlink tweaking its design to ease congestion, cut collision risk, and ensure dead satellites fall out of the sky faster instead of lingering as long‑lived junk.  The move sets a precedent for rivals, that “move fast and launch things” now has to coexist with basic rules of orbital sustainability. I always wanted to know how many, and w...

Elon Musk says he will soon mass-produce brain implants. This guy has got to be a genius in almost everything. Elon Musk said on X that Neuralink aims for “high-volume production” of its brain implants and automated neurosurgery this year, pushing brain computer interfaces out of bespoke experiments and into scalable medicine. Neuralink says about a dozen severely paralyzed patients now use its implant to control a computer cursor and play games using only their thoughts. The first wave of applications targets people with serious neurological disorders, helping them communicate and manage daily tasks. Musk said the device’s threads will pass through the dura mater, the protective membrane around the brain, without surgeons needing to remove it.​ Neuralink still needs to clear clinical trials and secure full FDA approval before it can move from tightly controlled experiments to routine medical use in the U.S. Elon has previously talked about scaling to more than a thousand patients by 2...

  ROBOTS IN ACTION How robots are transforming the world around us Click here to watch EngineAI’s "Terminator" robot walk the beat with police officers in Shenzhen. Photo: Shenzhen My grandfather had mentioned this when I was in my teens. I thought he had lost his mind. China now has a Terminator Patrolling with the police in Public! In the south of China, a humanoid robot straight out of a sci-fi movie was spotted walking side by side with real armed police officers. I think the armed officers were there to keep a watchful eye and oversee the humanoid action and performance, which would make good sense. This has already started, in labs all over the world, and is spreading slowly; this is the future evolution with OpenAI . Be mindful now that this is not a Robocop, like you saw in the movie. It's only an assisting tool for police forces with very sophisticated AI programming, and will not be equipped with the future "Synthetic Intelligence" SI, not yet anyway, ...

Is There A Link Between Coffee And High Blood Pressure? Many people enjoy coffee because it sharpens focus and lifts energy. That same stimulating action is also what can nudge blood pressure  upward for a short while. It's a short burst of exercise for the heart. John Higgins, MD, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at UTHealth  Houston, agrees that this happens and notes that the general answer is yes.  Moderate coffee use is usually acceptable for people whose blood pressure  is stable or only slightly raised, though individuals react differently. While caffeine can push readings higher for a brief period, long-term  drinking patterns tell another story.  Several studies report no added risk of hypertension among people who  drink coffee often. A review of 13 cohort studies found no clear link between coffee  intake and the development of high blood pressure.  A separate 2023 review even noted that heavier coffee consumption  was...

"Synthetic Intelligence" (SI) is a term that sometimes gets used interchangeably with "Artificial Intelligence (AI), but depending on the context, it can mean a couple of different things.  1. As a synonym for AI: Some writers and researchers prefer "synthetic intelligence" because it emphasizes the idea of creating or synthesizing intelligence rather than artificially copying human thought. In this sense, synthetic intelligence is just another way of talking about computer systems and algorithms designed to simulate aspects of human cognition, like learning, reasoning, decision-making, and creativity. 2. As a broader concept: Others use it to mean intelligence that doesn’t exist in nature but is built or engineered by humans. This goes beyond mimicking human thought; it could include forms of reasoning or problem-solving that humans don’t naturally use, but machines can. Who is behind it? No single person or group is entirely behind synthetic (or artificial) i...

Dark roast isn't stronger, and coffee doesn't dehydrate you. Published May 23, 2025, by Stefania Pelfini, La Waziya. I love a cup (or four cups) of coffee in the morning. I enjoy the taste, I enjoy the ritual of grinding beans, and, yes, I enjoy the kick I get from the caffeine. It’s just a nice way to start the day.  But, as with all nice things, coffee is sometimes misunderstood. This offends me both as a coffee drinker and as a fan of science, so I thought I’d look into a few common coffee myths and dig up some actual science.  Dark roast isn’t stronger Many people think that dark roasts are stronger and have more caffeine than light roasts.  And this makes an intuitive sort of sense, dark roast has a stronger taste, so why wouldn’t it also have more caffeine?  It’s not true, though.  The difference between dark and light roast is, as the name implies, how much the coffee beans are roasted.  A 2017 paper published in Nature by Megan Fuller and Niny Z. Ra...

Jensen Huang: “Digital humans” could enter the workforce. NVIDIA's CEO estimates the market for agentic AI labour could be worth trillions of dollars, as digital nurses, accountants, lawyers, and marketers join the workforce. He believes that companies won't just deploy AI tools: they'll hire, onboard, and manage AI agents like employees. Becoming an expert in agents now could unlock career growth down the road. Sundar Pichai: Even CEOs should be paying attention. Google's CEO made a surprising admission: "I think what a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things for an AI to do one day." Even the leader of a $3.5 trillion company is thinking strategically about how AI might change his role. The bottom line: While the future is hard to predict, the people building it are offering a pretty clear roadmap. AI’s capabilities are accelerating quickly, and people experimenting now will have a head start if the technology lives up to even half its hype. Thank you for...

Younger generations barely have the basics covered: food, shelter, and safety. But the path to meaning, purpose, and belonging? That's a different story. Largely blocked by the process of AI, the younger generation will suffer a large setback in the workforce for years to come and may never recover. The higher percentage is mostly living at home with their parents, they have no job, no income, no place to live, and do small chores around the home for a small allowance. Maybe just enough to be able to mingle with their friends and help to maybe find some work, get into a career, and get out on their own. Parents can't just leave their kids on the streets to try to survive. Previous generations found fulfillment through career advancement, home ownership, and building wealth. Today, all three feel out of reach, and real wages have barely budged in the last 50 years. The job market is hell right now, and home prices are 5x the median income. Younger generations are betting big and...

 Here's What Can Kill You Instead Authored by: Ashima Sharda Mahindra Jul 3, 2025, A new study says heart attack deaths dropped almost 90 per cent in 50 years, but chronic heart disease rose. Conditions like hypertensive heart disease, heart failure, and arrhythmias now cause nearly half of all heart-related deaths. Experts say a heart-healthy lifestyle is the best way to prevent these chronic conditions. Deaths From Heart Attacks Are Down, Here's What Can Kill You Instead. With an ageing population, there are more deaths from three common conditions, such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and hypertensive heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of fatality across the world. However, overall heart disease death rates over the past 50 years have dropped by more than 60 per cent in adults, according to a new study. Also, deaths from heart attacks dropped by nearly 90 per cent. However, according to the research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, mo...

Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to your coffee. For people who like a little bit of sweetness in their coffee but want  to avoid adding sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon or cocoa powder can be a  great solution, and according to Prof Spector, they bring their own  health benefits.  Both cinnamon and cocoa are exceptionally rich in their own unique  polyphenols, he says, effectively doubling the gut-feeding potential  of your coffee.  In our [Zoe’s] food composition database, cinnamon ranks among the  richest polyphenol sources, gram-for-gram.  Cocoa contains flavanols, which have well-studied benefits for vascular health.  Either makes a much healthier addition than highly processed sugar-rich  foods syrups. Lenherr agrees: “Cinnamon is a wonderful thing to add to coffee.  But be aware that a lot of the cinnamon in coffee shops is sweetened  with a bit of sugar.” Drink it in the morning. Everyone responds differently to caffeine....

This story is part of Popular Science’s "Ask Us Anything" series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall.  Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us. Where does tattoo ink go in your body? There’s one particular spot. Dermatologists break down how your body reacts to tattoos. RJ Mackenzie Published Mar 1, 2025 8:00 AM EST Tattoos are no longer taboo. One in every three Americans now has at least one tattoo. As getting inked becomes more common, potential risks and side effects are being more intensely scrutinized.  Last year, a series of worrisome headlines suggested a link between tattoos and lymphoma.  These scare stories were based on a study of 1,400 people with lymphoma and a control group of over 4,000 people without cancer.  This study’s authors claimed that their study showed that getting a tattoo increased risk, but their data actually suggested that any differences were not statistically...

Are colleges and universities really worth the time and cost? That’s a real good question, and one people debate a lot.  The answer depends on what you mean by “worth it” and on your personal situation.  Here are the main angles: Financial Value Higher lifetime earnings:  On average, people with a bachelor’s degree earn significantly more over their careers than those without one.  In the U.S., that difference can be well over $1 million across a lifetime. Debt factor: The cost of tuition and student loans can eat into that advantage, especially if someone doesn’t finish their program or if the degree doesn’t lead to high-paying work. Field of study matters:  Degrees in medicine, engineering, computer science, and finance usually have a much higher payoff than fields like fine arts or some humanities. Career Opportunities: Gatekeeper effect:  Many jobs require a degree just to get in the door, even if the skills could be learned elsewhere. Networking: ...

FROM THE FRONTIER  The AI chip wars are heating up both domestically and overseas. NVIDIA’s dominance. NVIDIA's rise has been staggering: from a gaming chip producer to a $4.5 trillion AI juggernaut in under three years. If you haven't kept up with the information, you are being left behind and are going to play catch-up from here on. The company now controls over 90% of the AI chip market, but its competitors are catching up quickly. Google just proved it doesn't need Nvidia. Gemini 3 Pro, currently one of the world's best AI models, was trained entirely on Google's in-house tensor processing units (TPUs), not Nvidia GPUs. Better still: TPUs slash inference costs by 50-65% compared to Nvidia’s offering, giving Google a massive cost advantage. Amazon recently unveiled Trainium3, a chip that's 4x faster and 40% more energy efficient than the previous generation. CEO Andy Jassy revealed that the chip, which competes directly with Nvidia’s, is already a "multi...

Instagram's head says platform must “evolve fast” due to AI. The Rundown. The Rundown: Instagram leader Adam Mosseri just posted a year-end essay arguing that AI-generated content has killed the curated aesthetic that made the app famous, saying that raw, unpolished posts are now the only proof that something is real. The details:  Mosseri says most users under 25 have already abandoned the polished grid for more personal direct message photos and "unflattering candids." He also pushed for camera makers to cryptographically sign photos at capture to verify real media instead of just weeding out fakes. Mosseri said Instagram needs to “evolve” fast, predicting a shift from trusting what images you see to scrutinizing who posted it. Instagram plans to label AI content, surface more context about accounts, and build tools so creators can compete with AI. Why it matters: IG was one of the pioneers of social media’s “filter culture”, so there’s some irony in now declaring the d...

News from the Daily Digest! Canadians are still skipping trips to the United States, and the numbers show it.  November saw a double-digit slide in Canadians returning from the U.S., delivering another hit to the tourism industry. Another month of falling year-over-year Canadian trips to the United States should have been expected.  Canadians have been shunning travel south of the border since Donald Trump began attacking Canada’s economic security and sovereignty upon his return to office in January. And Trump can't believe what is happening and might never get over the fact that Canadians are retaliating against him and his tariffs.  Air travel returns reportedly fell by 19.3% to just 465,800.  The travel decline was even worse when it came to automobile returns.  The 11th month of travel decline came with a big bang. Statistics Canada reported that the preliminary numbers for Canadian automobile return trips from the United States revealed a steep decline to ...

It is essential to remember that gray or white hair is beautiful.  It's stylish, and it's just totally normal!  More and more celebrities and influencers are fully embracing  their silver mane, inspiring thousands of people to do the same.  Accepting your hair is also an act of self-love.  Each gray strand tells a story, an experience, a part of you.  Why not wear them with pride? Whether you choose to rely on a nutrient-rich diet to slow down  their appearance, or you wear them proudly, one thing is certain:  Your hair is a beautiful part of your identity.  Take care of it, and above all, enjoy watching it evolve. Thank you for reading, Tim. 

 Few medicines have sparked as much debate as statins. Cardiologists often describe them as life-saving, while some patients remain wary of side effects or uneasy about taking a daily pill. Statins sit at the intersection of medical treatment and everyday lifestyle because high cholesterol is strongly influenced by factors such as diet, physical activity, weight and smoking. Although statins are prescribed based on clinical evidence, their use often prompts questions about whether cardiovascular risk should be reduced primarily through medication, lifestyle change, or a combination of both. Statins are a group of drugs that block an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase. This enzyme plays a central role in the liver’s production of cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fatty substance the body needs to build cell membranes, produce hormones, make vitamin D and generate bile, which helps digest fats. Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream attached to proteins, forming particles known as lipo...

It's a brand new year, and things are already moving at super sonic speeds!   From the Rundown News  AI to start making “significant discoveries” by 2028, and is calling on industry and government to work together to prepare for the risks that could come with super-intelligent systems.  The actual pace of progress is impossible to predict, but one thing’s clear: OpenAI is already setting the tone for how the world should adapt to the next wave of intelligence. OpenAI just released its first ‘State of Enterprise AI report, revealing insights from its over 1M workplace accounts, including massive productivity gains being seen across the business users on the platform. OpenAI pulled anonymized data from its real-world enterprise customers, as well as an AI adoption survey conducted across 100 enterprises. 75% of surveyed workers said AI improved their output speed or quality, with another 75% also reporting they can now handle tasks they couldn't before. The data showed...

This is a great question, and one that many people are wondering about.  The short answer is: jobs aren’t simply safe or unsafe when it comes to AI; instead, tasks within jobs are what AI tends to affect.  Some kinds of work will be heavily automated, while others will shift to focus more on human strengths.  Here’s a breakdown: Jobs are more at risk (high automation potential)  These are roles with repetitive, routine, or rules-based tasks:  Data entry, clerical, and routine office work, Basic customer service (scripted chatbots, call center automation), Simple manufacturing & warehouse work (picking, sorting, quality checks),  Basic analysis/reporting jobs (where software can quickly scan and summarize data),  Jobs likely to transform, not vanish:  These jobs involve some automation, but AI is more of a tool than a replacement:  Healthcare workers (AI can read scans, but doctors/nurses still handle judgment, empathy, and care), Teachers...

While "Artificial Intelligence (AI)" and "Synthetic Intelligence (SI)" often get used interchangeably, there are subtle but important ways people distinguish them:  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Focus: Replicating or simulating human intelligence.  Approach: Build machines that act like humans recognize speech, solve problems, learn from examples, etc. Examples: Chatbots like GPT 5.2. Self-driving car navigation systems. Recommendation engines (Netflix, Spotify, Amazon).  AI is often judged by whether it passes the "Turing Test": can it convince a human that it is intelligent?  2. Synthetic Intelligence (SI)  Focus: Creating new forms of intelligence that may not exist in humans or nature.  Approach: Not limited to human-style thinking can involve entirely new models of reasoning, problem-solving, and creativity.  Philosophy: Instead of imitating people, SI might invent ways of "thinking" that humans never evolved.  Examples (emerging/possible)...

Dictators like Trump Rise to Power during Crisis or Chaos! Dictators often emerge during times of economic trouble, war, or social unrest.  And if there is no Crisis or Chaos they will create some. People become desperate for stability and may accept strong leadership, even if it means giving up freedoms. Example: After World War I, Germany faced deep economic depression and humiliating conditions that helped Hitler rise to power. Promises and Propaganda: Dictators promise to fix everything: jobs, lower prices on commodities, safety, medicine, and national pride.  They use propaganda (media control, emotional speeches, posters, etc.) to make themselves look like heroes or saviours.  That sounds familiar to what is happening in the U.S.A these days, since dictator Trump got elected into power in 2024, and has been trying to eliminate the opposition since January of 2025. Eliminating Opponents: Once in power, dictators remove or silence rivals through imprisonment, exile, o...

This is one of the oldest and most human questions there is. There’s no single answer that everyone agrees on, but here are the main ways people understand the idea of an afterlife.  1. Religious and spiritual views.  Many religions teach that some part of us continues after death.  Christianity, Islam, and Judaism speak of heaven, hell, or a world to come.  Hinduism and Buddhism focus on reincarnation or rebirth, shaped by one’s actions.  Indigenous and ancestral traditions often describe a spirit world where ancestors remain present and connected to the living.  For believers, the afterlife is often about meaning, justice, reunion, or spiritual growth.  2. Philosophical perspectives.  Philosophers have debated this for thousands of years.  Some argue that consciousness might not be entirely tied to the body.  Others believe the self ends when the brain stops, but that our influence, memories, love, and actions continue in the lives of ...

 How To Clear Browsing History in Google Chrome. This is sort of a clean-up for your browser.   Be cautious when doing this, as it will delete a significant amount of information required for websites you frequently visit, and some of your login passwords may also be lost. If you still decide to clear your browser history, here is how to do it. Start by opening Google Chrome on your computer. Look at the top-right corner and click on the three-dot menu.  From there, navigate to the History section, where Chrome displays a timeline of your recent activity.  Once you are there, select the option to delete browsing data.  Chrome will ask you to choose a time range. You can wipe out the last hour, the past 24 hours, or clear everything completely.  Once you confirm, your browsing history, cached files, and cookies will be removed in seconds. Thank you for reading,  Tim.