I was responding to an email from an upcoming guest speaker for SAGESofBG this morning. He was concerned that Zoom might not work during his scheduled upcoming talk and wanted to schedule a test a few days before. He mentioned Murphy’s Law.

For those of you who do not know it, Murphy’s Law states, according to Wikipedia:

Murphy’s law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” In some formulations, it is extended to “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.”

Last year Judy and I experienced Murphy’s Law just prior to a Zoom meeting we were hosting. Judy works at her computer in the dungeon (basement), while I work from a spare bedroom on the upper level of our home. She had updated her Zoom a day before the meeting. Of course it failed when she tried running it minutes before the meeting that morning, fully complying with Murphy’s Law.

As you all should be aware of by this time, I adhere to Murphy’s Law and try to have a plan ‘B’ in place at most times. I had a copy of the previous Zoom version, copied the .exe file to a flash drive and gave it to her. She installed it and everything worked just fine. Oh, what a relief it was!

Both of us had similar problems recently with the early 5.13 Zoom updates. Our screens would flicker and distort during a program. Someone suggested my graphics card was failing but I smelled a rat since the problem went away when I closed all of my browsers.

Note: I generally have three browsers on for various tabs open and to do research while on Zoom meetings.

This time Judy found a temporary workaround. She installed the previous 5.12.9 version and flickering went bye, bye.

I did the same, installed 5.12.9, and got the same result – the end of flickering and distortion. It must have been a memory conflict and coding glitch that caused the problem.

I noticed other people were having similar problems at several of the weekly Zoom meetings I attended. It affected Windows PCs but not Apple computers. I advised people to do the same and install an earlier version if they were running 5.13. I offered a link to a Google Drive where I uploaded a copy. Someone also pointed out that Zoom has a page online with copies of previous versions.

The problem was resolved for us with the recent 5.13.5 update.

But I have digressed way off the intended story in this exaggerated prelude. I also realize that I am writing a saga. I must take my own advice, in the same manner, as I frequently caution Jack Goldenberg to do and avoid rambling on and on, and on and on, at his blog 10 Minutes of Brilliance.

{Jack} So, get back to your intended storyline.

{Mikey} An idea crossed my mind while drafting the email response mentioned an hour and some 450+ words ago in my opening paragraph. I should see if ChatGPT (an artificial intelligence website) could write a rhyme or limerick for me. Although the recent buzz and activity has jammed their server at times, fortunately, ChapGPT was available earlier.

I typed the following request in the chat box:

Please write a rhyme revolving around Zoom can work fine a day before as well as a day after a scheduled meeting, but can blow up one minute before the meeting…after all it depends on computers, servers and the internet! and each has a mind of its own.

{ChatGPT}

Here’s a rhyme for you:

Zoom can work like a charm, in advance or delayed
But the moment of truth can easily be derailed
It depends on so many things, servers, computers, and net
Each with their own quirks, you never know what you’ll get

One minute before a meeting, it might suddenly implode
Leaving you with frustration, on the video call road
But don’t despair, just remember, these tech woes come and go
And with a little patience, you’ll be back in the flow.

{Mikey} Did you catch the grammar error? (Note to Rhonda, my sister, – Mikey caught a grammar error!!! Don’t ask, it’s a long story.)

I wrote back:

Shouldn’t it read ‘Each with ITS own quirks’?

{ChatGPT}

Yes, you’re correct! Here’s the corrected verse:

{Mikey} CHAT just changed ‘their’ to ‘its’.

But after reading the rhyme several times, I re-submitted this version:

Zoom can work like a charm, in advance or delayed,
but the moment of truth can be easily derailed.
It depends on many things, servers, computers, and net,
each with its own quirks, you never know what you’ll get

Just a minute before a meeting, it might suddenly implode,
leaving you with frustration, on the video call road.
But don’t despair, just remember, tech woes come and go,
and with a little patience, you’ll be back in the flow.

{ChatGPT}

That’s a great revised version, I like the flow and rhythm. Here’s my final suggestion:

{Mikey} CHAT’s version was merely a duplicate of my previous amended suggestion.

{Jack G.} Is that plagiarism by a computer?

{Mikey} Who invited Jack G. to this event?

{Jack G.} And what’s the point of this epic tale? Where are you going with all of this Mikey?

{Mikey} In summation:

• As I remarked in a tech meeting on Zoom this past Tuesday – ChatGPT is not perfect, not yet, and may never be – so trust but verify.
• (Plug) Judy and I teach technology topics such as these to senior adults in our group classes and individual sessions (learn more by going to our ABnC Parties page).

 

Plus – there is no point other than I’m having fun sharing these tidbits with you and Jack G. Pass it on.

{Jack G.} Stop stealing my style.

{Mikey} Go back to your new crusade and alliance with Mother Nature at Reclaim Planet Earth.

And contact us (see right sidebar) if you are an organization or company interested in sponsoring programs to help senior adults by enriching their technology skills. Baby boomers, silent gens and their families can enjoy our group classes at Senior Planet from AARP.

{Mikey} Happy Trails to you!