The Nerd's Eye View

Innovation has Strange Headwaters

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:56:11 -0800

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the line between humans and machines. Partly for reasons of my own, and partly because my cousin has been thinking of going into robotics now that she is entering her final year of engineering school. So I've been doing a little bit of reading and ran across a profile of Le Trung. Le has built a robot named Aiko which has some amazing capabilities, such as facial and voice recognition, and fairly consistent speech - and all without the benefit of any outside support. Mind you, the robot has some bizarre aspects as well. For example it's dressed like a young Japanese nurse. It also refers to him as "my master" and wears a sock on one hand. Yes. It's creepy and possibly gross. But that doesn't take away from his genuine technical achievement.

Wordplay

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:37:25 -0800

I found this neat java application the other day. Wordle creates word clouds like the one below:

Where the size of the words is determined by the frequency with which they appear in the source text. The fonts and orientations of the words are configurable for a variety of neat looks. Take a look and play around.

It's 42

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:05:09 -0800

Just ran across this article about the moments of Reimann zeta functions. Apparently in an attempt to find the secret to the pattern of prime numbers, physicists in the UK have found that the moments of prime numbers start with 1, 2 and then 42! I don't claim to understand it all but there you go folks. Someone explain it to me and Ryan, get your towel ready.

Reversal of Fortune

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:32:18 -0800

In the grand tradition of the 4 month old NewCo, there is yet more change. Yep, The beginning of my employment at NewCo was supposed to insulate me from the impending end of our old business unit at Faceless Corporation. But in the space of about a month and a half, the good folks at my old business unit had their jobs saved, and two days ago I was told that my own job was now going away. That's right, in a few months our new business unit at NewCo will be no more. The tables have turned completely and I must say I think I'm taking it very well.

Artificial Life

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:27:30 -0800

When I was in college I got really into the cyberpunk novels of William Gibson. In Neuromancer and the subsequent novels Gibson introduces and expands a world where the line between humans and machines is blurred. The body is an almost infinitely upgradeable machine, that is optimized and modified for a variety of reasons. The movie got me into movies like Ghost in the Shell, which took some of those ideas and mixed them with ideas preempting the Matrix. The movie revolves around a military unit composed entirely of cybernetically "enhanced" people pursuing the nefarious terrorist known as the Puppetmaster. The film is very visually compelling and the introduction is quite an elegant - yet dark - vision of what's to come. Altogether it made me question the nature of "life" and what really constitutes it.

I ran across this today and it was strangely reminiscent of that introduction. The way the manufacturers of the mannequins talk about them: their design and creation, and what they mean; it's as if they are creating real women out of the foam and plastic that they mold. There's an eerily loving quality to what they say which would be creepy without having seen or read some of the works above. Regardless it's also interesting to watch.

Sudan + China = Uneasy Relationship

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:32:53 -0800

Interestingly enough I've been thinking about this same issue for a while now, and was surprised when it was on the news this morning in the car. While most folks think of China as either blindly rapacious, or overall ungainly and not accustomed to it's place in the world, that is untrue. Frankly, the Chinese are extremely savvy players on the world stage and their recent successes have not come overnight, but have been the result of years of diplomacy and thoughtful strategy. Their current influence in Africa (particularly where there are natural resources to be had) is based in work done throughout the 70's, or rather, they plan for the far future instead of just the near term. Have a listen to NPR's analysis or read it if you can't listen.

So Soon?

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:35:04 -0800

I had heard of this W movie, but thought it was still in the conceptual stages till I saw the trailer. I have to say I'm surprised, not least of which because the whole thing is happening so quickly and is apparently timed for release near election time. Does anyone think it will affect the course of events? Also, why couldn't this have come out before the previous election? What conspiracy is responsible for that I ask you? Heck, I don't know, and I don't know if this movie will be any "good" either for entertainment or commentary.

Sci-Fi

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:54:55 -0800

Have you guys heard about the plan to put solar power stations in space and beam the energy back to Earth? Sounds kooky but intriguing.

Awkwaaaard

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:07:10 -0800

I went to my semiannual dental check up yesterday and it turns out I needed x-rays done. The hygienist came in and took the images which showed up on a computer screen at the foot of the dentist chair. I pulled my glasses out to put them on so I could see the images and, as I swung my arm up, got it all the way up the front of his scrubs. I immediately pulled my arm back out but as I you can imagine it was extremely awkward. I apologized in a rush of words, and at the back of my mind I asked the question every man asks himself after an incident like this: "does this make me gay?" I quickly answered in the negative and wondered if it'd be less awkward if it were a girl. Nope. Probably not.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:22:48 -0800

I do.

Nerd friends, the Watchmen has been adapted into a movie and I for one am going to be first in line to see it. It's a great graphic novel, and probably one of the first to question the whole "superhero" genre and find it wanting. Check out the trailer here and don't bother telling me I am a dork - I already know.

Gitmo Video

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:05:39 -0800

I'm not one to talk politics on this blog, as I'm sure you know. But occasionally I see something pretty outrageous and feel compelled to share it with the wide world. Just over at BBC this morning and saw an article about the interrogation video of a Canadian 16 year old being held at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. It's pretty harrowing and frankly seems cruelly indifferent to the suffering of someone who is basically a kid, any way you slice it. In short not for the faint of heart.

The Idea Man

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:40:52 -0800

Apparently the commoditization of simply everything has finally been completed. Now you can get your ideas out of a vending machine just like anything else. I talked to Pedro and Iain and now, it seems the only thing we need to get into the idea game is ideas for local fun. Any ideas?

courtesy of Iain

Smokey the Bear

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:39:04 -0800

You may live under a rock (or in Canada or some god-awful place like that) and not know that there are tons of forest fires raging around the American West. I'm not saying it because it's important (unlike most people out West I am not convinced that I live at the omphalos of the world), but because it's pretty hard to miss that much fire. Luckily, I am not in the path of the blaze and can go about my bland life, carting myself back and forth to work etc. - except. Except, that there is a haze hanging over the area whose sole purpose seems to be making our sunsets look spectacular every night. The only downfall is that every time I see that beautiful sunset I'm faintly aware of my lungs blackening, and the fact that nuclear winter would kind of look like this except darker and colder ... and with more cannibalism.

In Case You Don't Know Him ...

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:59:33 -0800

Mike Birbiglia might be the funniest new comedian I've heard in a long time. Check out his take on - well I'll let you figure out what he's talking about, but it's so on.

Kids Today

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:44:27 -0800

Is it bad that I want my kids to be like this?