What Does AI Think of Silverback Digest? The invitation came from Google to be a prototype tester for their pending foray into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), called Bard. (Get it?) "AI" doesn't have a lot of relevance here in The Jungle, but curiosity got the better of me, so I signed up. Soon... Continue Reading →
Greg: Cassandra and I trekked back to Vermont the next weekend. Cassandra and I had thrown ourselves into research and had learned a lot. I told them: "What you've done has a legal name ... pseudocide, like suicide, but with your identity, not your body. You see it mostly in insurance frauds, or when someone... Continue Reading →
Greg: We arrived at the Farmer's market right when it opened at 10 am, but we hung out at the edges so that we didn't run into Del prematurely. I really hadn't thought through how we should present ourselves. It was a beautiful late September day, but the Green Mountains were showing splashes of color.... Continue Reading →
Del: We arrived in Vermont. It was Fall, a totally different feeling than the Fall at Emerald. In California this would be harvest time for the marijuana crop. We'd all be gathered in a big room, wearing our plastic gloves, clipping buds, separating seeds, and packaging up the weed. It would be tedious, excpt everyone... Continue Reading →
Del: It was dumb of me to let the kids use the Grendel name for their band, but I was just so damn flattered. Things were changing at Emerald, but not in a good way. The drug of choice was changing from marijuana to methamphetamine. Not my thing. That meant the culture was changing, too.... Continue Reading →
Del: Jeroo started getting really good on the guitar. By 14 or so he had surpassed my ability to teach him anything. Remember ... even though I was The Music Guy at Emerald, I had retired from rock 'n roll at 18! From a musical development perspective, I was pretty stunted, although I did know... Continue Reading →
Greg: My Dad passed away just a few years after he retired, always believing that Del was somehow still alive. I became a lot more convinced as well when several days after his passing, I received another mystery package, this one contained a cassette tape with the following song: No one had shared the attic... Continue Reading →
Del: My twenties were a blur. I loved the early years at Emerald. Everything seemed fresh and new. We were as far as you could get away from The Man and The Establishment. I loved learning how to garden, and how to build crazy-ass houses. I love being the music guy in the commune, and... Continue Reading →
Del: San Francisco had run its course for me. I was sick of squatting in abandoned buildings, watching people come and go, and dealing with the hardcore druggies and the hangers-on. I still wanted to be lost, but I thought I could do it in a less chaotic and healthier way. Joni Mitchell telling us... Continue Reading →
Del: I felt bad about the effect that my deception would have on the people I loved, but I also knew that this was a completely irreversible decision. Once I was gone, I was gone. There was no turning back. Good-bye Wendell Watson, hello Billy Mann. It was like committing suicide, but without the blood.... Continue Reading →
