As a nine year old on the farm in the early '50's, I used to read any comic available. Some of the periodicals were really gruesome, with vampires, blood pools, etc. It was terror that I inflicted on myself. Whenever I had to do an outside chore in the dark, I was imagining horrors that I hadn't yet seen in script. My dad was a "Practical Man" with a simple solution, "Stop reading 'em." He wasn't giving me a suggestion as much as an injunction. Well my problem was solved quickly. Later the comic industry (sounds funny even saying it) policed themselves with their own code. William T. was the original Comics Code Authority for me.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is an effort to enable computers to think more like human beings (good luck). SETI is another investigation (Search Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) that has been so far conducted without much success. When the internet first blossomed, I thought a person could educate themselves (liberation!). Instead, I discovered a major pitfall in the connected computer alliance. Input could be in error, untruthful, or ignorant and all of this would fly in the face of good science.
Like myself, a scientist friend of mine has had to deal with some Tea Party folks. Their opinions often are based not on history or science, but the bias built into the input. He coined a phrase about this movement that I love, "They are angry and ignorant." AI has taken a new twist.
Bothered me for the longest time, my Mac G5 in the closet, unused and useless. Procrastinating for a year, I finally took it to repair. The verdict was swift and sure. Too costly to fix, but I couldn't take it to the dump which would have culminated in a life curse of regret. I had the hard drive saved and the balance recycled. As I stated to the tech when I picked it up, "I am here for the remains of a G5". He laughed and said, "Put it in a Folger's can."
Joe would say, "Hotter than a mug!" I never understood the meaning, not that it mattered. I had no concept of the scale, but innately understood that whatever it was, it was all the way. Been that way all night, and now into the dawn, it continues. The only thing that could make it hotter is a bit of dancing!
Motored to Gaylord today in search of a receiver, and was rewarded with a bargain. When cashing out, the clerk asked my phone number to initiate closure. This left me at a loss. "I don't know my phone number, and hate cell phones anyway". I ad libbed the non sequitur just to muddy the water and make a standard protest. "Well, we have to have the number to complete the sales transaction." I missed the rationale of the whole policy and blithely walked away from a stoned silence, "I guess we don't have a deal then."
"There are drops of dew that show like sapphires in the grass as soon as the morning sun appears, and leaves stir behind the hushed flight of an escaping dove."- Thomas Merton
Close to twenty years ago, I heard the greatest anti-war song ever and recorded it onto my cassette recorder. There were some immediate problems. I didn't know the title, or the artist, quality was poor, volume was low, and it was dead in the middle of a ninety minute tape. Retrieval was quite a task, but at least I could barely hear the song when I accomplished that end. All changed this morning, and "Terrible beauty is born."
Health care, medicare, why care? I know I'm in a minority with my opinion, but I am very excited that some 33 million Americans will have some form of medical coverage soon. The same government that can send thousands outside the country and put them in harms way should have a system to mitigate against nature's way with the rest of us. Oh, did I forget, age takes us all out in the end anyway, but that is another story.
I was stunned when Handbag reappeared two days ago, dancing on the passenger side seat of a new Ford, chauffeured by good looking lady wearing a baseball cup. The lid shadowed a suntanned frame, embellished with tattoos. Where does that boy live when he isn't being a dog?
