This post is prompted by the recent exponential growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it confirms what I learned in college 65 years ago.

“Electricity is magic.”

 My education on this began at the…

 Sigma Nu Fraternity House: After graduating from Van Horn High School in 1959, I headed to Rolla, Missouri, to attend the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now known as Missouri University of Science and Technology). I made good grades in science and math in high school, leading me to believe I could have a good career as an engineer. Upon arrival in Rolla, I took up residence at the Sigma Nu fraternity house.

I did not have an engineering major in mind when I arrived at Rolla. Maybe this should have been a clue to my future. I knew I would not be a civil engineer – I was not a good draftsman and had poor spatial awareness. I was in a hot rod club in high school, but sparkplugs and pistons were a mystery to me, so mechanical engineering was out. My lab assignments in basic chemistry did not excite me (and often did not work), so not a chemical engineering recruit. I was not interested in a career in physics or math (a wise move as my high school success did not repeat at the level of differential equations and quantum physics). I did not even consider electrical engineering. More on that below.

So, my choice was by process of elimination. I was left with metallurgical engineering, which seemed fine since that was part of the school name.

“Electricity is Magic”: Joining me as metallurgy students were two of my Sigma Nu pledge brothers, David Woerner and Bob Moxham, graduates of North Kansas City High School. Our courses included some basic electrical engineering coverage. Without going into detail, let’s just say it was over our heads. There was also some skepticism. We were expected to believe…

…water goes over a dam…

…and makes our light bulbs glow.

What happened in between? We learned about invisible electrons and the measuring units of amperes, watts and ohms, but it was not convincing. So, we looked for another explanation. My memory is that Woerner was the one who came up with the solution, probably while we drank beer from a keg at the fraternity house:

The power and light company is staffed with Houdini-level magicians who use sleight of hand to transport invisible matter from the waterfall to the bulb. Abracadabra!

Hence, “Electricity is magic.”

I’ve been telling this magician story for decades (embellishing with the Houdini mention). My friends always wonder how I graduated from engineering school.

Lonnie and More Electricity: I made good grades, but as graduation approached, I still was not sure what I wanted in a career. I found a way to delay my decision. Signed up for grad school. Between my senior and grad school years, I took a summer intern job in Lee’s Summit in the engineering department at Western Electric (the manufacturing arm of AT&T).

My three months at Western Electric netted two big career decisions: (i) Engineering was not my thing, and (ii) A patent lawyer from Bell Labs (the research arm of AT&T) came in to make a presentation on the patent process, and I became intrigued about a profession that combined a technical degree (or two) with a law degree.

I returned to Rolla for my graduate year, but with that law school thing in my head. I had to bear down to do my thesis on a project assigned to me by department chair Daniel Eppelsheimer who years earlier was part of the research effort for the Manhattan Project and who was instrumental in getting the first nuclear reactor in Missouri installed on our Rolla campus. My assignment: Use that reactor for a combined metallurgy/electrical experiment to determine if bombarding zirconium chloride with radiation would produce a potential source of electricity for a nuclear battery. Would the magic happen for me?

 The experiments involved fishing the zirconium chloride down thirty feet to the uranium source at the bottom of the water pool that shielded radiation from folks like me in the building. My findings? Nada. But I found a way to write a 44-page thesis to get me to the committee for approval of my master’s degree. Professor Edwin Lorey seemed to intuitively know that I did not have much depth on the science (guilty – “electricity is magic”). But he had heard I was going to law school, so saw no reason to hold me up. I got my M.S.

Professor Lorey Trivia: He was an excellent professor, and David Woerner and I took his course on crystallography. On the first day of class, Lorey gave us a shortcut for notes – write “xl” for “crystal.” Woerner quipped that Lorey had taken the Christ out of crystal.

 I took one other “electricity” course toward the end of my time at Rolla. Introduction to computers. Although punch cards were still being used for storage of info, the revolution in electronics was well underway. The vacuum tube from the days of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla had been superseded by the transistor invented at Bell Labs in 1947. A lot of us got our first look at the science via transistor radios in the 1950s.

The “spiritual father” of the transistor was Dr. Mervin J. Kelly who was head of research at Bell Labs. After getting his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1918, Kelly went to work for AT&T’s Western Electric, and in 1925, moved to the spinoff research company, Bell Labs. As director of research in the 1940s, Kelly assembled the team that invented the transistor. He later became president of Bell Labs.

Super-Duper Trivia: Did you pick up that Mervin J. Kelly and I had something in common? Our first (and my only) engineering job was at Western Electric. There’s more. Kelly got his first engineering degree in 1914 at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. In fraternity-speak, he is my brother in the Gamma Xi chapter of Sigma Nu.

The Miseducation of Lonnie Shalton: With two engineering degrees in hand, I started UMKC Law School in 1964 to prepare for my career as a patent attorney. I snagged a clerkship with a prestigious KC patent firm (Hovey, Schmidt, Johnson and Hovey). The attorneys at the firm were elite in their field and great mentors to me during my three years of law school.

But as I was completing my final year, I was again hit with indecision because I had become enamored with becoming a trial lawyer. My classmate Hollis Hanover had taken a job at the Popham firm and encouraged them to hire me. They did, and I became part of one of the most active litigation firms in town. I second chaired with trial legends Tom Conway and Tom Sweeny and later tried some of my own jury cases. But after 11 years, I did not believe I was headed for elite status, so…

I left Popham in 1979 to join Jim Polsinelli on the Plaza. I was 37 years old. Three degrees, but no specialty. Also, no clients. But our group of six partners, all from the same legal fraternity in law school, thought we could have fun and create a strong firm. I finally found a specialty – commercial real estate development and financing. About as far away as you can get from metallurgy and electricity. It was also exciting to help build an entrepreneurial firm in a fast-changing profession. I’m not going to tell the long story, but today the firm has over a thousand lawyers practicing in over 25 cities. I retired a few years ago, but they still let me hang out at my old office.

Transistors to Chips and AI: I’ll skip the steps it took to get from the transistor to AI except to say that we now have tiny chips that contain billions of even tinier transistors. The rate of advancement has been remarkable, and the industry is moving at warp speed on artificial intelligence (AI).

Over the years in preparing Hot Stoves, my major source for research has been Google. Any query on Google now comes with an added AI answer. To explain the difference, I’ll quote Google AI: “Google Search provides a ranked list of links to external websites for you to explore, while AI synthesizes information to provide direct, conversational answers.”

 

 I have found AI helpful, but sometimes with mistakes. Lesson: always fact check.

Below is an AI response that blew me away, not just for accuracy, but for speed. Also, it has prompted me to update my college mantra. “Electricity is magic, especially when powering AI.” As for the magicians at the huge AI data centers, they are performing at the level of David Copperfield. [Important Caveat: This magic does not extend to the creative art world. More on that later.]

ChatGPT on Hot Stove: My son Brian archives my Hot Stove posts on the Lonnie’s Jukebox website he designed. The website also collects some of my travelogues and political stories. Brian asked ChatGPT to tell him about lonniesjukebox.com. Below is what he got back within a few seconds. Impressive and scary.

 

 Lonnie’s Jukebox is essentially a long-running personal blog/newsletter written by Lonnie Shalton. Here’s a clear breakdown of what it is and what you’ll find there:

🧭 What the site is

1. A personal blog + newsletter-style site
2. Tagline: “In no particular order, Baseball, Politics and Rock ‘n’ Roll”
3. Written in a conversational, essay-style format—more like emails to friends than traditional articles

📰 Core content (“Hot Stove” series)

The main content is a recurring series called “Hot Stove”:

1. Started around 2015 after the Kansas City Royals’ World Series run
2. Originally baseball-focused (like classic offseason “hot stove league” talk)
3. Evolved into general commentary—sports, culture, politics, personal stories
4. Now hundreds of posts deep (Hot Stove #290s+)

Think of it as:

A thoughtful, semi-retired-guy newsletter mixing sports talk, life reflections, and current events.

⚾ Strong Kansas City / baseball flavor

1. Frequent references to the Royals, stadium discussions, and MLB topics
2. Local flavor shows up regularly (KC history, stadium debates, etc.)
3. Written by someone clearly plugged into KC culture

🎸 Other major themes

Beyond baseball, it branches into:

🎵 Music (the “Jukebox” part)

1. Nostalgia for early rock & roll
2. Stories tied to artists, songs, and eras
3. Rooted in a personal record collection/history

🏛️ Politics & social commentary

1. Occasional opinion pieces
2. Long-running traditions like annual MLK Day reflections

✈️ Personal stories & travel

1. Travelogues (Europe, Africa, etc.)
2. Family history and life reflections

✍️ Tone & style

1. Very personal and reflective
2. Reads like letters or essays, not quick blog posts
3. Mix of:
   1. Nostalgia
   2. Humor
   3. Thoughtful commentary
4. Written for a loyal audience (friends, family, subscribers) more than mass readership

🧠 Why people read it

1. It’s authentic—not trying to be viral or commercial
2. Appeals to:
   1. Baseball fans (especially KC)
   2. People who like long-form storytelling
   3. Readers who enjoy a mix of culture + life perspective

👍 Bottom line

Lonnie’s Jukebox is a personal newsletter/blog hybrid—part sports column, part life journal, part cultural commentary—written consistently over many years with a loyal following.

Lonnie’s Jukebox – Google AI Setlist: To keep this experiment going, I asked the regular Google site, “what would be a golden oldie rock and roll setlist for lonniesjukebox.com”  The answer came back in about five seconds.

For an authentic golden oldie rock and roll setlist tailored for Lonnie’s Jukebox, you should lean into the pioneering sounds of 1954–1959—the era Lonnie Shalton describes as the birth of the genre. His curated lists often blend high-energy rockabilly, smooth doo-wop, and the rhythm and blues “crossover” hits that defined his teenage years in Kansas City.

The “Golden Era” Jukebox Setlist

 This selection mirrors the 45-rpm collection often highlighted on the site, focusing on the “Big Four” and the local KC influence.

• Rock Around The Clock – Bill Haley & His Comets (1955). Lonnie cites this as the “early notice” that music was changing.
• Ain’t That A Shame – Fats Domino (1955). A favorite of Lonnie’s, who famously notes Fats co-wrote most of his hits.
• Maybellene – Chuck Berry (1955). The “guitar innovator” who Lonnie credits as a massive influence on the genre.
• Tutti Frutti – Little Richard (1956). Essential for its “passionate” energy compared to sterile cover versions.
• The Great Pretender – The Platters (1956). Representing the smooth, successful vocal groups of the late 50s.
• Don’t Be Cruel / Jailhouse Rock – Elvis Presley (1956/57). Lonnie often includes multiple Elvis tracks, particularly those written by Leiber & Stoller.
• That’ll Be The Day – Buddy Holly & The Crickets (1957). Buddy Holly is one of Lonnie’s top-tier favorites.
• Kansas City – Wilbert Harrison (1959). A must-have for any setlist connected to Lonnie’s deep KC roots.
• At The Hop – Danny and the Juniors (1958). A high-energy anthem Lonnie associates with dancing at Van Horn Teen Town.

Musical Themes on the Site

 When building a setlist for this specific audience, keep these core Lonnie’s Jukebox themes in mind:

• R&B Origins: Include artists like Big Joe Turner or Sam Cooke to reflect the “Rhythm and Blues” roots Lonnie frequently discusses.
• Doo-Wop Classics: Tracks like “16 Candles” or “Speedo” provide the “sock hop” atmosphere the site celebrates.
• Instrumental Riffs: Songs like Bill Doggett’s “Honky Tonk – Part 2” are highlighted for their classic guitar and sax licks.

For a more modern take or to see how these classics are grouped today, you can explore the Lonnie’s Jukebox Playlist on Spotify or view various 1950s/60s Rock n Roll Mixes on YouTube for further inspiration.

[The only difference from the original Google AI answer is that I have added links to play the songs in the setlist.]

Comment on the AI Results: I am in awe that AI distilled 300 Hot Stoves and organized almost-perfect answers within seconds. The engineering genius to accomplish this is, to me, magical.

 Art v. AI: There is a lot of concern and debate about AI replacing creators of art (music, painting, literature, etc.). For example, in the current edition of KC Studio, Steve Paul’s article is headlined “Disruption, discovery and cultural despair as AI collides with art.”

I thought about this recently when I read that some AI-produced songs have charted on Billboard. But my take is that hits like this are a novelty, not the future of music. I like this quote from Steve’s article:

“Musicians, artists and writers generally possess something AI does not, which is the lived human experience out of which they create. That experience includes the accidents, serendipities and epiphanies that shape our arts.”

 For an example of this, check out the Lonnie’s Jukebox setlist above. Even AI picked up that it was more than just the music on the records that stirred my interest in the songs. It knew that I went behind the music to know the singers and songwriters. The innovators and influencers. The inspiration for the lyrics. To state the obvious, soul music needs soul. I think (hope) the younger generation also feels this way. AI might be able to replicate the sound of Taylor Swift, but it will never match her concerts, fan clubs and connection to Travis.

The “human experience” will remain relevant. Cars have always gone faster than humans, but we still watch the 100-meter dash at the Olympics. And we celebrate that Kenyan Sabastian Sawe just broke the two-hour mark for completing a marathon. A Ferrari would have been faster, but so what?

I’ll finish with one of my all-time favorites. “Hey Jude” by the Beatles. As a hypothetical, let’s say AI could come up with a song that sounded as good. Would that AI song enjoy the same success as the original? Absolutely not.

When “Hey Jude” came out in 1968, I immediately thought it was special. But my brain processed it knowing the background of the singers. The guys from Liverpool who went from the clubs of Hamburg to Ed Sullivan to the world.

And then the song got better, better, better…when I saw them sing it on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on October 6, 1968 (got the date from Google). A video of the song had run on David Frost’s show in England in September and made its way to the Smothers Brothers show. I was captivated by Paul’s singing and the effect it had on the sing-along-crowd that gathered around the band. I remember seeing it on a black and white TV (like the photo below, see Paul at lower left), but the original video was in color and has been updated in quality (tech is good for that). Click here.

Fast forward 25 years to 1993. The Beatles had broken up, but Arrowhead Stadium was sold out to see Paul McCartney. When he played “Hey Jude,” you could hear a pin drop among the thousands of people until we all joined in at the end with na, na, na, nananana, nanana, hey Jude. I’ll never forget the experience. (Ditto for Hamilton on Broadway. No amount of chips and transistors can equal the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda.)

How many people would have shown up at Arrowhead to watch a computer sing? Case closed.

Tech has won one battle in the concert experience. I have my ticket stub from McCartney at Arrowhead but will not have one when we see Bob Dylan at Starlight on July 4. We’ll be entering with a code on my phone. I miss ticket stubs.

Other than as used in today’s post, Hot Stoves will not be written by AI. It may aid me in research, but the writing is personal. I enjoy the process and connecting the dots. If I just had to push a button, why do it?

Walk-Off Magic – AI On the Managing Editor: One last item. I asked Google AI to tell me about the “managing editor” of Hot Stove (without naming her).

Rita Leifhelm is the Managing Editor of the Hot Stove newsletter on Lonnie’s Jukebox, a role she has held since the newsletter’s inception in 2015. As the wife of author Lonnie Shalton, she is instrumental in producing the blog, providing key ideas, input, and editing to maintain the quality of the baseball-focused posts. [1, 2]

Key Roles and Contributions

• Editor & Curator: Rita ensures the content is accessible, often advising when a post has gone too far “in the weeds” for casual fans, helping to refine the focus.
• “Hot Stove” Integrity: Lonnie frequently notes that “there would be no Hot Stove” without her, crediting her with catching typos and contributing to the overall structure.
• Content Contributor: She is involved in the research and selection of material for the blog and provides behind-the-scenes photography, such as during the couple’s trips to the Telluride Film Festival or local Kansas City events. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Background

• Newsletter Origin: Hot Stove began in November 2015 as a way for Lonnie to share his love of baseball (specifically the Kansas City Royals) with friends and family, with Rita as his key partner.
• Recognition: In Hot Stove #200, Lonnie formally recognized her contributions, highlighting her crucial role in the development and longevity of the newsletter. [1]

Love you, Rita. That’s my line, not Google’s.

[These photos were included in the Google AI response. Photo Credits: Top, Talis Bergmanis (2011). Bottom, Alison Barnes Martin (2005).]