Mathias's mock turtle soup (without imported items)

"Cognitive entanglement, after all, is the rule of life. My memories and my wi..."

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:47:20 GMT

"Cognitive entanglement, after all, is the rule of life. My memories and my wife’s intermingle. When I can’t recall a name or a date, I don’t look it up; I just ask her. Our machines, in this way, become our substitute spouses and plug-in companions. Jerry Seinfeld said that the public library was everyone’s pathetic friend, giving up its books at a casual request and asking you only to please return them in a month or so. Google is really the world’s Thurber wife: smiling patiently and smugly as she explains what the difference is between eulogy and elegy and what the best route is to that little diner outside Hackensack. The new age is one in which we have a know-it-all spouse at our fingertips."

–The Information

"Interviewer: What are your views on people going to college to learn guitar?..."

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:51:46 GMT

Interviewer: What are your views on people going to college to learn guitar?

Neil Yong: Paints a pretty doomed picture of the future, doesn't it?[Laughs.] First of all, it doesn't matter if you can play a scale. It doesn't matter if your technique is good. If you have feelings that you want to get out through music, that's what matters. If you have the ability to express yourself and you feel good when you do it, then that's why you do it. The technical side of it is a completely boring drag, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I can't play fast. I don't even know the scales. A lot of the notes that I go for are notes that I know aren't there. They're just not there, so you can hit any note. I'm just on another level as far as all that goes. I appreciate these guys who play great. I'm impressed by these metal bands with their scale guys. Like I go, "Gee, that's really something." I mean, Satriani and Eddie Van Halen are genious guitar players. They're unbelievable musicians of the highest caliber. But I can't relate to it. One note is enough.

–Neil Young on playing guitar

(Image)

Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:02:10 GMT

[Reposted from intrigante via bicycle]

(Image)

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:26:56 GMT

[Reposted from manwhoplayedgod]

(Image)

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:23:47 GMT

[Reposted from ashe]

Ruby on Rails Tutorial: Learn Rails by Example | Ruby on Rails 3 Tutorial book and screencasts | by Michael Hartl

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 19:30:53 GMT

http://railstutorial.org/book#top

"Real Software Engineering Glenn Vanderburg Software engineering as it’s t..."

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:12:41 GMT

Real Software Engineering

Glenn Vanderburg

Software engineering as it’s taught in universities simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t produce software systems of high quality, and it doesn’t produce them for low cost. Sometimes, even when practiced rigorously, it doesn’t produce systems at all.

That’s odd, because in every other field, the term “engineering” is reserved for methods that work.

What then, does real software engineering look like? How can we consistently deliver high-quality systems to our customers and employers in a timely fashion and for a reasonable cost? In this session, we’ll discuss where software engineering went wrong, and build the case that disciplined Agile methods, far from being “anti-engineering” (as they are often described), actually represent the best of engineering principles applied to the task of software development.

–http://confreaks.net/videos/282-lsrc2010-real-software-engineering

(Image)

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:45:10 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:24:57 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:24:05 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:23:04 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:23:02 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:22:24 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:21:48 GMT

(Image)

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:20:44 GMT

(Image)

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:22:56 GMT

[Reposted from salvinorum via coffee]

(Image)

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:12:49 GMT

[Reposted from szufik via antifuchs]

Awesome.

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:36:40 GMT

Awesome.

Once upon a time in Afghanistan

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:20:38 GMT

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=full

do want.

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:12:45 GMT

do want.

rofl.

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:21:30 GMT

rofl.

The future is *awesome*

"We realize that there are many people who just want to use the software we wr..."

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:37:46 GMT

"We realize that there are many people who just want to use the software we write, and who have no interest in learning technical details. For most people, a computer is merely a tool, a means to an end; they have more important things to do and lives to live. We acknowledge that, and don't expect everyone to take an interest in the technical matters that fascinate us. Nevertheless, our style of answering questions is tuned for people who do take such an interest and are willing to be active participants in problem-solving. That's not going to change. Nor should it; if it did, we would become less effective at the things we do best."

–How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

YouTube - ASIMOs new artificial intelligence. (ASIMO is learning!)

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:04:53 GMT

YouTube - ASIMOs new artificial intelligence. (ASIMO is learning!)

(Image)

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:49:07 GMT

(Video)

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:35:13 GMT

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/video-lectures/embed01a/

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:34:58 GMT

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/video-lectures/embed01a/

Street Giant » Leroy Stick – the man behind @BPGlobalPR

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:23:03 GMT

Street Giant » Leroy Stick – the man behind @BPGlobalPR

[Reposted from malpertuis]

Swiss team ETH Zurich showed its prowess at slotting 100µm pins (human

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:20:18 GMT

Swiss team ETH Zurich showed its prowess at slotting 100µm pins (human hair sized) into impossibly small holes. That's a picture of one of the competition arenas above, and we think you'll want to see the video of ETH's tiny bulldozer doing its thing after the break. In a few years we figure these little suckers will be doing something like this in your body, but instead of assembling puzzles they'll be overcoming natural defenses and removing your will to live.

-- via Engadget

via V Lock for easy finding of the keyhole by Junjie Zhang » Yanko Design

Thu, 27 May 2010 23:19:53 GMT

via V Lock for easy finding of the keyhole by Junjie Zhang » Yanko Design

Author Nicholas Carr: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains | Magazine

Thu, 27 May 2010 21:37:40 GMT

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/ff_nicholas_carr/all/1

"The robot is equipped with basic motor primitives (control of its head direct..."

Thu, 27 May 2010 21:16:30 GMT

"The robot is equipped with basic motor primitives (control of its head direction, arm and mouth movements) which are controlled by a generic developmental engine, which we call Intelligent Adaptive Curiosity. With this engine, the robot actively chooses its actions and its learning situations. The engine can measure the effects of the actions taken on the environment through a camera, IR sensors, touch sensors and motion feedback.

The developmental engine is composed of

(1) prediction systems that learn the effects of actions in a particular context; These prediction systems are set of experts specialized in particular areas of the sensori-motor space;

(2) meta-prediction systems that learn to predict the error of prediction systems (1) and its evolution over time. In particular, these meta-prediction systems can compute an expected error reduction corresponding to a given action. This is done by comparing the error rate of the new expected sensory-motor context to the error rate in similar sensory-motor contexts in the past, as opposed to the error rate in the most recent sensory-motor context;

(3) an action selection module that chooses actions with maximum expected error reduction (as computed by (2));

As a consequence, this system produces action sequences that are expected to maximize learning progress.

Such a self-motivated robot focuses on tasks with are neither too predictable nor too difficult to predict. It looks for “progress niches”, sensory-motor situations which are optimal for learning given its embodiment (physical body and learning algorithms), the structure of its environment and its current stage of development. This ensures a continuous development of increasingly complex behaviors.

"

–The Playground Experiment / Sony CSL Paris

Sony Computer Science Laboratory Paris » Developmental Robotics

Thu, 27 May 2010 19:00:07 GMT

http://www.csl.sony.fr/research/developmentalrobotics/

The Discovery of Communication

Thu, 27 May 2010 18:12:34 GMT

The Discovery of Communication / Experiment with AIBO robot / Sony CSL Paris

Watch this video on vimeo.com

03:05 - 4 years ago

What kind of motivation drives child language development? This robotic experiment investigate the hypothesis that children discover communication as a result of exploring and playing with their environment. The AIBO in this experiment is intrinsically motivated towards situations in which it optimally progresses in learning. To experience optimal learning progress, it must avoid situations already familiar but also situations where nothing can be learnt. The robot is placed in an environment in which both communicating and non-communicating objects are present. As a consequence of its intrinsic motivation, the robot explores this environment in an organized manner focusing first on non-communicative activities and then discovering the learning potential of certain types of interactive behaviour. In this experiment, the agent ends up being interested by communication through vocal interactions without having a specific drive for communication. The Playground experiment is a collective effort of researchers at the Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Paris. More info: http://playground.csl.sony.fr

"A corporation is an institution that is granted a charter recognizing it as a..."

Thu, 27 May 2010 18:11:04 GMT

"A corporation is an institution that is granted a charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members.^[1] There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business."

–Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"These two concepts -- space and time -- may be thought of as analogous to the..."

Mon, 17 May 2010 23:38:35 GMT

"These two concepts -- space and time -- may be thought of as analogous to the operating system on a computer. Without an operating system, a computer responds only to on/off electrical impulses, and you will find it difficult to organize electronic bits of information into meaningful sequences. Once you have an operating system, however, data are accepted, stored, retrieved and manipulated. Space and time function in this way.

If you think of the sectors on a formatted disk, it may be easier to understand Kant's second level of perception, what he called the categories of quantity, quality, relation and modality. Like space and time, these categories are "hardwired" into the brain, and they provide more complete context for incoming data."

–Roots of Wisdom, Helen Buss Mitchell, on Immanuel Kant.

"Never do anything for the sake of it. Keep perspective. Remember that the lea..."

Mon, 17 May 2010 23:13:28 GMT

"Never do anything for the sake of it. Keep perspective. Remember that the least important requirement often ends up driving the design (I think I got that one from Jeffery D. Kooistra, but I’m not sure). Avoid “brainstorming”, which usually degrades into ill-considered bombast sessions where the most thoughtful people quickly get shouted down. Instead, present a problem to the group, ask them to think about it, research, and kick it around to taste, and then schedule a meeting where each person can present their findings. Be grown up!"

–The Programmers’ Stone » What To Do Per Individual

YouTube - The Neural Circuitry of Perception & Genetic and Hormonal Influence...

Mon, 17 May 2010 22:20:59 GMT

YouTube - The Neural Circuitry of Perception & Genetic and Hormonal Influences on Cognition

"“Take Windows,” he explained. “The understanding of Windows’ operating system..."

Mon, 17 May 2010 15:58:12 GMT

"“Take Windows,” he explained. “The understanding of Windows’ operating system, and how it worked in the kernel, needed that kind of a domain expert, and they had that kind of ability there. And we realized as a community that we were not dealing with something normal. We’re dealing with one of two things: either we’re dealing with incredibly sophisticated cyber criminals, or we’re dealing with a group that was funded by a nation-state. Because this wasn’t the kind of team that you could just assemble by getting your five buddies who play Xbox 360 and saying, ‘Let’s all work together and see what we can do.’”"

–The Enemy Within - Magazine - The Atlantic

"There were other improvements to Conficker. Among them: besides shutting down..."

Mon, 17 May 2010 15:54:19 GMT

"There were other improvements to Conficker. Among them: besides shutting down whatever security system was installed on the computer it invaded, and preventing it from communicating with computer-security Web sites, it stopped the computer from connecting with Microsoft to perform Windows updates. So even though Microsoft was providing patches, the infected machines could not get to them. In addition, it modified the computer’s bandwidth settings to increase speed and propagate itself faster; and it began to spread itself in different ways, including via USB drives. This last innovation meant that even “closed” computer networks, those with no connection to the Internet, were vulnerable, since users who cannot readily transmit files from point to point via the Web often store and transport them on small USB drives. If one of those USB drives, or a CD, was plugged into an infected computer, it could deliver the worm to an entire closed network."

–The Enemy Within - Magazine - The Atlantic

(Image)

Sun, 16 May 2010 20:37:08 GMT

[Reposted from farblos via hairinmy]