To varying degrees of success, our Artificial Intelligencer Janelle Shane (previously) has put several generative adversarial networks through the paces to see how they might re-interpret breakfast cereal American style. The more sophisticated third generation autoregressive language model DaVinci seemed to understand the task best, concocting the highly plausible Eggo Nut Frosted Strawberry Pancakes with confetti sprinkles, but other models did not seem to grasp what’s part of a complete breakfast with “Orb Crumpets” or the unpalatable “Original Cool Ranch Cheese and Dried Cranberry Oatmeal.” More at AI Weirdness at the link above.
Saturday 22 January 2022
grover’s corners
the new normal
On this day in 2003, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fielded questions during a press conference, including Charles Groenhuijsen a Dutch reporter from Nederlandse Publieke Omroep, who spoke to the mood of reservation and doubt in the coalition of the willing: “But now the European allies. If you look at—for example—France, Germany also a lot of people in my own country … [I]t seems that a lot of Europeans rather give the benefit of the doubt to Saddam Hussein than Geroge Bush. These are US allies. What do you make of that?” After some prevarication, Rumsfeld replied, “Now you’re thinking of Europe as German and France. I don’t—I think that’s old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the centre of gravity is shifting to the East.” Heralded later as the German Worte des Jahres—altes Europa—it was embraced by many politicians as a badge of integrity for their well-founded skepticism and reluctance in contrast to what some regarded as opportunistic realignment for New Europe.
Friday 21 January 2022
aack one
Though I admit that I would be burying the lede if I didn’t confess that I would have turned to this excellent and highly recommended podcast mini-series on the Cathy comic strip (1976 - 2010) and its author Cathy Guisewite by Jamie Loftus for the mere fact the concluding episode is entitled Guisewite Shut, it is a subject worth revisiting—rather unfairly dismissed and reviled as a trope of “the four basic guilt groups,” it’s a much more subtle and nuanced ocial commentary on generational transitions and power dynamics.
how to start an alternative lifestyle
Via fellow internet caretaker, the always excellence Web Curios, we are directed towards this fun guessing game sourced from the often bizarre illustrations of wikiHow (see previously here and here) and challenged to associate it with the proper instructional article with only this bit of context—albeit the slightly menacing quality to the pictures are the bigger draw than the practical advise dispensed. Give it a try and let us know how many right you can get in a row.
catagories: ๐พ, networking and blogging
barn
From Neil Young and the ensemble Crazy Horse, with whom the artist has been collaborating for over a half a century, with videography by Young’s wife Daryl Hanna, we are quite enjoying this new album—his forty-first and seventh together with Billy Talbot and Ralph Molina of Crazy Horse since 1968—released last month.
dmc-12
project lyra
Shortly after the passage of the interstellar interloper called ‘Oumuamua (previously) in the fall of 2017, the scientific consortium known as the Institute for Interstellar Studies began a drawing up plans to develop a probe to rendezvous with the mysterious object. Researchers demonstrated that by means of advanced propulsion technology and a complex, theoretical gravitational assist, a slingshot or powered flyby called a Jupiter Oberth manoeuvre, the craft, if launched by 2028, could eventually catch up with and better study ‘Oumuamua. In parallel, the institute is also working on Breakthrough Starshot, to propel a solar sail to the next nearest star system with an ETA of under two decades. More from Universe Today at the link up top.