This is a Just the Facts (JTF) post: generated by AI from my own raw material (voice memos, session notes) and a short outline I wrote, then checked by me. What's a JTF?
Halloween snuck up on us this year. At 2pm nothing was ready, and by the end of the night we'd had a great time. Along the way we had a slow start, a last-minute pumpkin idea, one brief "I lost the kids" moment, and a bit of vindication from Google.
2pm: Things Were Looking Grim
- A key piece of J's costume hadn't arrived.
- The pumpkins hadn't been carved.
- Baby W had no costume.
5pm: Back on Track, Baby!
- UPS delivered, literally, and J's Red Hood costume was good to go.
- J printed a stencil and carved a perfect Red Hood bat symbol into his pumpkin.
- I couldn't think of anything to carve, so I gave in and carved a simple face into my pumpkin. I looked at my bookshelf for inspiration and saw Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP), but didn't make anything of it at first. Then it clicked: the lambda on the cover. I carved
(λ)into the side of the pumpkin, a nod to Lisp humor. Next year maybe I'll carve some proper code into a pumpkin. - We found a fuzzy brown sleeper for baby W, and its ears matched the wearable blanket I planned to wear that night.
6:15pm: Off to Trick-or-Treat
- J: Jason Todd / Red Hood. His outfit was a perfect match.
- E: The Bride of Chucky. She looked smashing.
- L: Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, with sparkly shoes, a sparkly dress, and a stuffed "Toto" in a basket.
- Baby W: A little bear, carried by me, a big bear.
- Rose: Kim Possible. People of the right age totally got it.
We Started Slow, but Things Picked Up
- We started in our neighborhood, and it was sooooo quiet. Only three or four houses were participating, and I really missed the frenetic energy I remember from when I was a kid.
- Then we headed over to 6th Street South. It was perfect: the place was hopping, with plenty of candy, decorations, and just the right vibe. It was busy without being crowded.
Sorry Not Sorry About the Phone Situation
- When J brought up his phone before we left, I told him not to bother bringing it.
- I didn't want it to be a distraction, and we were planning to stay together anyway.
- Pretty quickly, J and E peeled off from our group.
- About 15 minutes after they left us, it hit me: we should have put his phone, with location sharing turned on, at the bottom of his candy bag. Then we'd have had an easy way to find him.
- E did have her phone, but it was at 3%. Rose watched it go to 2%, then 1%, then dead.
- After we'd done all of 6th Street, we got back to the car, and J and E weren't there. I wasn't really nervous, since it was Halloween in a fine neighborhood. Still, I called Shira to confess and ask whether I should drive around looking for them.
- In the middle of explaining, I saw the two of them walking down the street toward us. "Never mind. Just kidding. Halloween joke. Everything's fine. Bye."
- They'd gotten a little turned around and walked past the car about twice.
- In the end, I was happy that the phone stayed home. It made J and E solve the problem of finding their way back to us, and they did it somewhere perfectly safe.
- I think it was a bit of accidental genius. Next year, though, the phone goes in the bottom of the candy bag.
Google AI for the Win
- J was bummed that nobody recognized him as Jason Todd / Red Hood.
- But when I opened a photo of him with the "Ask" feature in Google Photos, it figured it out with no hints. Before I'd asked anything, it said something like "your Halloween costume of Red Hood looks great." Vindication!
Behind This Post
The outline I wrote
- 2pm on Oct 31's things were looking grim:
- A key piece of J's constume handn't arrived
- The pumpkins hadn't been carved
- Baby W had no costume
- By 5pm, we were back on track, baby!
- UPS litterlly delivered, and J's Red Hood Costume was good to go
- J carved a perfect Red Hood bat-symbol into his pumpkin
- Stumped for what to carve, I finally caved and carved a simple
face into my pumpkin. I'd looked at my bookshelf for insperation,
and saw SICP there, but didn't think anything of. Then it clicked,
and I carved `(λ)` into the side of the pumpkin a nod to lisp
humor. Next year maybe I'll carve some proper code into the
pumpkin
- We found a fuzzy brown sleeper that baby W could wear, and its
ears matched the wearable blanket I planned to wear that night
- By 6:15pm, we were heading off for Trick or Treating
- J: Jason Todd / Red Hood - his outfit a perfect match.
- E: The bride of Chucky - she was looking smashing
- L: Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz - wearing sparkly shoes, a
sparkly dress and carrying 'toto' in a basket.
- Baby W: a little bear bing carried by me, a big bear
- Rose: Kimpossible - those folks of the right age, totally got it.
- We started slow, but things picked up nicely
- We started in our neighborhood, and things were sooooo
quiet. Only a few homes were participating, and I sorely missed
the frenetic energy I remember as a kid.
- We then headed over to 6th Street South. It was perfect: the place
was hopping, with plenty of candy, decorations and the perfect vibe. It was busy
without crowded.
- Sorry not Sorry about the Phone Situation
- When J asked, I suggested he didn't bother bring his phone
- I didn't want the phone to be a distraction, and we were planning
to be together
- Quickly, J and E peeled off from our group
- 15 minutes after they separated from us, it hit me: uh, we should
have put his phone, with location sharing enabled, in his candy
bag, we'd have an easy location fix on him
- <insert a quick version of the story: E's phone died, I had
to call and confess to Shira>
- Ultimately, I was happy with the decision to leave the phone at
home: it let E and J problem solve their way back to us,
all while in a perfectly safe environment.
- In the end, I think it was a bit of accidential genius
- Google AI for the win
- J was bummed that nobody recognized Jason Todd / Red Hood
- But, Google's 'ask' feature in Google Photos totally figured it
out, no hints needed. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSTN3mHEAOA][Vindication]]!
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