Author Archives: Steve Mays

One rock at a time

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I recently had our propane provider move our tank from where it had been sitting for the past 30 years to a less visible (from the house) location. I noticed that the rocks that once covered the slope down from our driveway had rolled/washed/worn away and decided replace them. No shortage of rocks on our property. The red line shows my progress to date. This task turned out to be much harder than I expected. I have a wheelbarrow but quickly discovered that it’s easier to move one rock at at time, by hand. Doesn’t look like I have much hill left but that might take five or six hours. Searching for Zen? Here it is.

Update: May 6, 2015. Task completed.

rocks

Winchester Cathedral

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My first brush with hot air ballooning was in 1979. An advertiser (McCaul Tire and Appliance) for the station I worked at had a big promotion that included a hot air balloon. Someone decided it would be fun to broadcast live from the balloon so we held a contest and the winner (Keith Williams) got to go along for the ride. [First 3 photos below]

A year later I hired the same crew as an anniversary present for Barb (and me). Barb and took a flight on beautiful October morning. From a mile up we could see the Mississippi River in the distance. We also did some tethered flights for our friends, which included a champaign christening for first-timers.

Revolution in civil liberties

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From interview with David Simon (Where the Baltimore Police Went Wrong):

The documented litany of police violence is now out in the open. There’s an actual theme here that’s being made evident by the digital revolution. It used to be our word against yours. It used to be said—correctly—that the patrolman on the beat on any American police force was the last perfect tyranny. Absent a herd of reliable witnesses, there were things he could do to deny you your freedom or kick your ass that were between him, you, and the street. The smartphone with its small, digital camera, is a revolution in civil liberties.

The AI we confront will be us

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From an article by Tim O’Reilly

“When news of import spreads around the world in moments, is this not the awareness in some kind of global brain? When an idea takes hold in millions of individual minds, and is reinforced by repetition across our silicon networks, is it not a persistent thought?”

It’s a rare day I don’t “ask Google” a question. Usually several. Increasingly, Google provides a useful answer. As this bit of magic becomes commonplace, the line between Me and the Net becomes thinner and thinner and will soon disappear. (Already, perhaps?) My mind (whatever that is) feels like it’s escaping the cramped confines of my head and it feels wonderful.

“AI that we will confront is not going to be a mind in an individual machine. It will not be something we look at as other. It may well be us.”

As our Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal ancestors slowly became what we are today?

Too pretty to ride the range

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Cowboy Steve -small

I begged the photographer (one of those retro places you see at tourist traps) to let me be a rugged fence-mendin’, doggie-punchin’ cowboy but he insisted I didn’t have the face for it. Said I was more of the Brett Maverick type. Sigh.

Abortion: A positive social good

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“I am pro-abortion like I’m pro-knee-replacement and pro-chemotherapy and pro-cataract surgery. As the last protection against ill-conceived childbearing when all else fails, abortion is part of a set of tools that help women and men to form the families of their choosing. I believe that abortion care is a positive social good. I suspect that a lot of other people secretly believe the same thing. And I think it’s time we said so.”

From an article in Salon by Valerie Tarico.

Let’s make them better than human

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ex-machina-movieGolly. I don’t know where to begin. I really enjoyed the film Ex Machina but that tells you next to nothing. Certainly the best treatment of AI I’ve seen on screen. There were a few moments reminiscent of Blade Runner. When Rachael realized her childhood memories were implanted; when Roy went to see his creator, Dr. Tyrell. But I found this a fresh and thought-provoking story.

If you’re that guy that kept pointing out why the flux capacitor was just a made up thing and couldn’t be used for time travel, yeah, you’ll probably find lots of _flaws_ in the tech of this movie. And now you know why it took you sooo long to get laid. Given half a chance, I’m quite willing to suspend my disbelief and did so for this movie.

What does it mean to be almost but not quite human? When we have the technology, will we be able to scrape enough ‘goodness’ to create beings better than ourselves?

When I’m really absorbed in a story I sometimes forget to breath for a few seconds. I was a little light headed by the end of Ex Machina.

Invisible Atheists

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“In today’s Arab world, it’s not religiosity that is mandatory; it’s the appearance of it.”

“Religion is a form of surveillance. It’s not about God; it’s about the power wielded by those who act in his name.” Habib, Willoughby, and many others have switched to atheism as an act of rebellion. But their rebellion is less against Islam than against the abuses committed by religiously powered individuals and political systems.”

“Despite the risks and the social and political challenges they’re facing, all the atheist activists I interviewed said they were confident that the future of the Arab world belongs to secularism. Willoughby told me that “atheism is spreading like wildfire” in the Middle East. Brian Whitaker views it as “the symptom of a much bigger thing, which is the battle against oppression.”

From an article in New Republic »