September 29, 2010 archive

Technological Singularity


The Singularity is the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence. There are several technologies that are often mentioned as heading in this direction. The most commonly mentioned is probably Artificial Intelligence, but there are others: direct brain-computer interfaces, biological augmentation of the brain, genetic engineering, ultra-high-resolution scans of the brain followed by computer emulation. Some of these technologies seem likely to arrive much earlier than the others, but there are nonetheless several independent technologies all heading in the direction of the Singularity – several different technologies which, if they reached a threshold level of sophistication, would enable the creation of smarter-than-human intelligence.

http://singinst.org/overview/w…

Intermission: Sanity Break

Open Operator

Photobucket

Sport Shooting

AssociatedPress | 28 September 2010  – Five U.S. soldiers are facing murder charges, describing a plot to randomly kill civilians for sport while on patrol in Afghanistan. If the case proceeds to a court martial and there are convictions, the soldiers may face the death penalty.

Specious: Change You Can Believe In

The Nerve. The Utter Nerve.

.

 The utter nerve of President Obama.  The gall of this guy.  Scolding rank and file Democrats for being down and disgusted with the Administration, disgusted with the Democratic Party, when it was the Administration and Democratic Party that’s made rank and file Democrats so damn disgusted.

 Since taking the oath of office Obama’s time and time and time and time again bent over backwards, demonstrated all manner of contortions, to make nice with the very Republicans who have it in for him and have done all in their power, and then some, to undermine whatever tepid initiatives he’s put forth.  But when it comes to the Democratic base, the very ones who put him into office, we get:

. . . watered-down proposals (Single Payer off the table, the Public Option under the bus . . . all to appease Republicans who worked overtime to fuck-over America anyway); we get the same-ol’ same-ol’ when it comes to Justice (why hasn’t the Justice Dept dropped all charges against Don Siegelman and started seriously investigating the chicanery of the Bush BFF’s who persecuted him?); we get Rahm Emanuel calling liberals “fucking retarded”, apparently with Obama’s blessing (no public dressing-down, let alone firing); we get the just-as-petulant Robert Gibbs scolding “the professional left” (where’s my paycheck? I could damn well use one!); and on and on and on . . .

  And rather than taking his own advisers and other hangers-on to “the woodshed,” rather than even considering that we’re disappointed in his obsession with genuflecting to the Great God BiPartisanship (while sticking it to Americans in the process and refusing to FIGHT for the Middle Class), rather than declaring anything like:

 “I messed up.  For a year-and-a-half I actually believed that Capitol Hill Republicans also wanted what was best for America and Americans, just that they advocated a different way of getting there.  Now I realize that I was wrong and they want what’s best for the wealthiest and most mean-spirited of Americans.  I won’t make that mistake again.  Today, I fight them, and fight for the United States of America and her citizens.”

 

.

 . . . or rather than saying, with crystal clarity:

.

“Yes, we will fight like hell to tax Wall Street bonuses by 99% over the next 10 years and if the GOP beats us, then at least Americans will know who stands with them and who stands with the Conscienceless, Rapacious Rich that put all kinds of high finance gambling ahead of their country’s economic well-being!”

. . . rather than any of that, we get scolded.

Screw it.  Oh, and what Bartcop says.*

____________________

* h/t to lotlizard; and h/t to nightprowlkitty

Muse in the Morning

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Muse in the Morning

An Opened Mind XXXV

Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening.

–Mignon McLaughlin


Layers

Transference

You keep telling me

what I think

— like you would know?

How is that appropriate?

I am told by you

that I must be motivated

by self-interest alone

like you and

(you aver)

everyone

But it is not so

It angers you that

I deny your claim

maybe because you assume

I must believe that

I am better than you

No such thing

do I believe

But the truth of it all

seems to be

that you apparently do

believe your philosophy

is lacking

if your attitude

is any measure

And isn’t that

a kick in the butt?

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–January 5, 2007

Late Night Karaoke

Arnold calls out the Big Oil Front Groups in dramatic fashion

I couldn’t believe my ears.  Did Arnold just change from Red to Blue ?

Or maybe it was just a deeper shade of Green.

Schwarzenegger defends climate law, slams Texans

Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer, SFGate — Sep 28, 2010

The governor’s vehement defense of the climate legislation commonly referred to as AB32 comes amid a fierce campaign led by oil interests to win passage in November of Proposition 23, a ballot measure that calls for suspending the climate law until the jobless rate hits 5.5 percent for a year, a level achieved only three times in 40 years.

Schwarzenegger, speaking before several hundred people at the Commonwealth Club in Santa Clara, said the proponents of Prop. 23 are attempting to subvert the democratic process using scare tactics. He likened the campaign to a shell game hiding what he said was the real purpose: “self-serving greed.”

“They are creating a shell argument that they are doing this to protect jobs,” the governor said. “Does anybody really believe they are doing this out of the goodness of their black oil hearts – spending millions and millions of dollars to save jobs?”

The Shlep Group

 

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