StumbleUpon | pthemusicgod1's blog posts

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/7018093/

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 21:07:49 -0800

That's the last straw. I do not appreciate at all having my HTML tags neutered.

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/6889418/

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 18:42:43 -0800

Where'd my saskTel interview review go. Hrm. Anyway I'm close to getting a new job :)

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/6751852/

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 23:03:18 -0800

University of Regina students -- now is your chance to take a course in Open Source Software Development. I'd take it but I'm flat broke.

> From: Daryl Hepting
> Date: October 26, 2006 3:27:46 PM GMT-06:00
> Subject: open source software development course through the
> weekend university
>
> Hi;
>
> I have been working with the open source software project
> called lyx http://www.lyx.org) this semester in my human-computer
> communications course (CS305). I've gotten a lot of interest
> from students and I think that there is sufficient interest
> amongst my students and others in the department to offer a
> course next semester. The CS Department doesn't have the
> regular resources to offer this course, BUT through the Weekend
> University it can be done. They need a minimum of 15 students
> to enroll -- if they don't get that, the class might be cancelled.
> One catch is that the class must be offered on Saturdays during the
> day. They prefer one of 2 slots 9-11:45AM or 1-3:45PM (I think).
> Would you be interested in teaching this class? Would you know
> someone who might be interested? I think that some arrangement
> could be made about "team teaching" but will have to check about
> the particulars. I had a couple of students in my office the
> other day asking about such a course. This could be a really nice
> model for offering this opportunity to students. There is also
> the opportunity for a lab component (enter the Open Systems Lab,
> so far not used for this purpose). Depending on what prerequisites
> we set, there is the opportunity to draw in some people from off
> campus -- which makes the Saturday time nice for that.
>
> I've marked this as high priority because I'd like to see whether
> there is someone interested and able to teach the class before
> I raise the possibility to the students (and anyone else). Pay
> would be the regular stipend for a sessional. 13 meetings (Saturdays)
> would be involved.
>
> I hope that we can have a conversation about this in the near future.
> I look forward to catching up with you.
>
> Best regards,
> Daryl
> --
> Daryl H. Hepting, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor * Computer Science Department * CW 308.22
> University of Regina * Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada S4S 0A2
> dhh@cs.uregina.ca * http://www.cs.uregina.ca/~hepting

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/6477468/

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 16:04:55 -0800

(Regina, Canada)

NEWS RELEASE: Bird Deaths on University of Regina Campus

Necropsy results on the 26 Grackles recently found dead on the
University of Regina Campus indicate that the birds were poisoned with
Strychnine. The birds were all found in close proximity to the Luther
College Building.

Strychnine, which has highly controlled distribution, is largely an
agricultural pest control poison. Strychnine is not used by Wascana
Centre Authority, the University of Regina or the City of Regina.

Strychnine is an entirely different poison from that which killed a
number of birds in Wascana Centre in July. There is currently no
evidence which directly links these incidents.

Wascana Centre Authority and the University of Regina advise parents to
exercise caution with children playing near the area in question. If
your child becomes ill after being in this area, please seek medical
attention promptly. Similarly, pet owners are also cautioned
concerning foreign substances their pets may consume. If your pet
becomes ill after exposure to a foreign substance you should consult
your veterinarian promptly.

Wascana Centre Authority is asking the public for their cooperation in
reporting any unusual sightings in this area. Should you have
something to report, please contact us at 522-3661.

For more information please contact:
Van Isman
Executive Director
Wascana Centre Authority
347-1846

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/6439585/

Sat, 11 Nov 2006 09:13:41 -0800

There are cannons firing nearby my house. It sounded like the downtown core was being bombed.

Of course the reason is it's rememberence day

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/6385209/

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:52:37 -0800

On my 1999 "Report on Computers"

"Evolution eventually leads to complex life." I was speaking about evolution within and of computers. Computers who are able to evolve themselves

I have read this since I wrote it, And it seemed worth keeping around then. Let's see.

What was it? It was arguing that computers were (through evolution) converging on the kind of intelligence, and higher-order complexity that humans(not exactly all that intelligent in themselves) had at the time progressed to. There was no suggestion that we might merge, or that humanity could modify itself to become smarter.

* I viewed cellular automata, and computer hardware in general as something that just was. Like a mathematical form, I do not think I fully grasped that 'humanity' produced this stuff, and that humanity was made up of people like me. Computers have not succeeded, humanity has succeeded in creating tools that do the things I discussed.

* Elements are fuzzy. As I understand fuzzy, anyway.

* Cellular automata as I understood it was mostly static. You can create turing-complete computers within the kinds of cellular automata , but I did not know it at the time, in any case, I was convinced that because evolutionary forces were at play, that they were enough. Nothing about thermodynamics, or the idea that computers must in some way be worth producing(whether through ritual or pragmatics) in order for them to be produced.

* I understood that data in one context led to activity in another, and I gave examples, but I think there was something about this relationship I did not clearly understand. Perhaps I still do not understand it clearly since this bulletpoint doesn't seem to come across as very clear.

* As Yudkowsky(sp?) pointed out, evolution is effective in the long run, but it is incredibly slow. It took billions of years to get where we are today, at what I consider to be a low estimate.

"That is the most pure learning as possible"

I don't know the specific implementation details of the room-computer that I was talking about then, but it doesn't matter. There is an infinite amount of information(?) inherent in each action, that only introspection can realistically gather. Learning from mistakes while driving probably means that there's a set level of abstraction that the computer simply does not cross. Like the robot in the science display in "I, Robot", when asked whether it knew of another robot like itself, forcing it to generalize past the level it was capable caused things to go wrong. When the DARPA grand challange was just recently completed in 2006(?), I have a somewhat hard time that driving automobiles was a 'solved' problem in 1997-1999.

* I considered reason to be the highest level of intelligence. I am no longer convinced.

* I pointed out the "Prodigy" computer system, which could allegedly find and remember its mistakes, to avoid them in the future. This is Hard. I'm glad in a way that I pointed it out, but like 2 bullet points ago, this is an information problem, and one of interpretation. Did I really go wrong in not remaining with my first girlfriend? It had all the trappings of a local optima. These kinds of situations (am I in a local optima?) require abstract reasoning beyond knowing that there's a bad situation, and reasoning simply to try to get out.

The argument then proceeds to suggest that if computers are at some point alive, and as developed as human beings(or more), then our relationship with them has to be reconsidered. The logical next step to me was to have them communicate with us, and that so long as they were capable and willing to learn, that by communicating with us they would close the gap quicker than otherwise. If we cannot consider other human beings slaves, then we cannot consider computers slaves.

Implying, of course, that humans too should not be enslaved.

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/6311818/

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 22:41:10 -0800

Graaaah StumbleUpon is broken. It won't install.
Claims that version "2.88 could not download", and gives some sort of orbit error. My StumbleBar dissapeared, and somehow through my old profile it's still working. Restarting doesn't help. It won't uninstall. Ahh it's so messed up.

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/5948873/

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 07:16:33 -0700

AAAH
a StumbleBug! I reviewed a page, now my review is gone, and it won't let me review it again! :(

I'll try to salvage:

GPLv3 debates flame throughout the internet.

The High and Mighty Linus Torvalds himself called me and everyone like me stupid.

This Guy went to great lengths to try to bridge the distance between the FSF
and the Linux developers.

the GPL3 is not yet set in stone, and would certainly appreciate every bit of effort and mindshare you can give it.

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/5525364/

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 01:08:46 -0700

Well, my server is up. It's no longer the central hub, but we had a transition from a wired to a wireless network. I do not yet have my own ip, but it looks like I may have a relatively stable connection from now on. So hopefully my website will come back up soon.
now on 1.1mbit! woo

http://pthemusicgod1.stumbleupon.com/review/5471875/

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 23:55:35 -0700

Well, my server is down. Actually that's not true; I'm the central hub of a 10ish component network right now, but I'm afraid to put my webserver on the router. More updates I'm sure at some point.