2011.02.17
Watson has lots in common with a top-ranked human Jeopardy! player: It's very smart, very fast, speaks in an uneven monotone, and has never known the touch of a woman.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/opinion/30friedman.html?_r=1 Great piece on Singapore. It's a bit strict, but I dig the pragmatism.
Self-checkout at CVS gave me a 10 and 2 ones, not 3 ones. But stealing would be stealing, roboclerk and faceless corporation and all.
Word is the Borders in my work building is closing down. Bummer, though allegedly the Copley Sq. rent was $1mil/month so not so surprising--
http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=3570 - man maybe I should work up that trip to see NYC buddies sooner rather than later...
A computer that can kick butt at Jeopardy is a great achievement. A program that could compose good Jeopardy clues would be even better.
Growing up in upstate NY, there was an anti-arson ad- the gruff fireman said "for example, we knew this was arson just by the way it spread"- jeez, I thought, who is this Arson guy? Why don't they arrest him? (Mork from Ork always ending his show "Mork calling Orson, come in Orson" probably abetted the confusion.)
