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There Is A Special Place In Hades...
...For those who set archive files into other archive files.
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Fly On The Wall or Wall On The Fly?
I spent another fruitless while yesterday in the Bargain Basement of Books Warehouse in Pigeon Forge yesterday. The place is a shambles with tens of thousands of books in bins or on shelves with very little in the way of organization. It's impossibly difficult to find anything specific.
My thinking there went in this direction: if I had one of those quadcopter drones that could carry a camera, or perhaps carry my smartphone and have it act as a camera, I could photorecon the whole space and then have a computer program determine all the books it saw. Then I could virtually search that data and see if there was anything I wanted or needed.
I feel it's probably a good likelihood that somebody's already thought of something like this.
Fifteen Meg On A Deadframe's Chest...
...Yo ho ho and a pitcher of tea.
Got an external case for the hard drive of the long-departed computer FrankIntel's Monster today. And the old drive still seems to work. I hooked it up to Precious, got my Aidfile Recovery Pro running, and it was recognizing old data...
...but wouldn't actually start recovering the data without me bubbling in my activation key to Recovery Pro. I thought I'd done that years ago when I obtained the program. My options now: wait till Giveaway of the Day re-offers it and get a new key that way, or pay $70 to Aidfile for a new license to the program. Or hope that one of the OTHER recovery programs also works and has a valid activation key in place.
RUM-inating on the theme for a while.
Got an external case for the hard drive of the long-departed computer FrankIntel's Monster today. And the old drive still seems to work. I hooked it up to Precious, got my Aidfile Recovery Pro running, and it was recognizing old data...
...but wouldn't actually start recovering the data without me bubbling in my activation key to Recovery Pro. I thought I'd done that years ago when I obtained the program. My options now: wait till Giveaway of the Day re-offers it and get a new key that way, or pay $70 to Aidfile for a new license to the program. Or hope that one of the OTHER recovery programs also works and has a valid activation key in place.
RUM-inating on the theme for a while.
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What I Said On Tumblr Today--And Maybe More Than That
(Linking to an NPR Post ABOUT THIS, I added:)
I remember when OMNI magazine had an article about a fiction-writing artificial intelligence named Racter.
I remember when OMNI magazine had an article about a fiction-writing artificial intelligence named Racter.
Elsewhere today I on Facebook I linked to an article about a thesis-writing app that has suddenly become a tool for abuse among scientific scholarly “authors”.
Allow me to connect some more dots here. Upstairs, I have a lectern dictionary I snitched from my brother, who acquired it in a neighbor’s garage sale. One of the features of this dictionary is a bibliography of the World’s Great Books, as judged in the 1950s when the dictionary was compiled. Over 2500 books are included, all now public domain.
In theory, a battery of artificial intelligences can figure out all the story genres you like, and then mine the public domain for paradigms on which to construct new material especially for you, in manners that particularly appeal to you. They would make a whole new canon—just for you.
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Semi-Useless Fact
Windows supports just over 3800 kanji (Japanese ideographic characters--the majority of their writing system).
More Carrier Noise
Now I have eight different patterns loaded for the eight aircraft carrier models I want to reverse-engineer. Of course, my main two limitations in this endeavour will be funding and patience...with the next one being working space.
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Trouble Ticket
If you see this, it's a screenshot of an "audit" I did on my main Livejournal page. I don't know if this "syntax error" is what's blocking me from staying logged in. I'll have to forward this to LJ's managers/admins first chance I get.
FP
Adventures In Mad Science
* Because my brother got me a smartphone to replace my flip-phone this week, I felt I had to return the favor and find a toy for him. I'll tell you all about it after I give it to him.
* Because my brother got me a smartphone to replace my flip-phone this week, I'm trying to figure out how to use it. So far, I'm way behind it and the whole touchscreen nonsense is somewhat counterintuitive to me.
* Because my brother got me a smartphone to replace my flip-phone this week, I went through Precious's soundfiles (and made some new ones by using a decompiler to loot soundtracks from .SWF files I downloaded over the years) in an ongoing attempt to generate ringtones. I still only partly know what I'm doing.
* In my travels to procure the toy for my brother, I saw a late-model Audi sedan outside Strange--the interior comprehensively burnt out. I started brainstorming hot rod ideas almost immediately.
* Still dabbling with reverse-engineering old Eastern-bloc paper models of aircraft carrier ships into much larger mixed-media models. I have seven downloaded patterns of a planned eight...but my internal math estimates that each "plate" in the scale I'm working with means $10 in materials. So I'll need funding of one form or another.
* Because my brother got me a smartphone to replace my flip-phone this week, I'm trying to figure out how to use it. So far, I'm way behind it and the whole touchscreen nonsense is somewhat counterintuitive to me.
* Because my brother got me a smartphone to replace my flip-phone this week, I went through Precious's soundfiles (and made some new ones by using a decompiler to loot soundtracks from .SWF files I downloaded over the years) in an ongoing attempt to generate ringtones. I still only partly know what I'm doing.
* In my travels to procure the toy for my brother, I saw a late-model Audi sedan outside Strange--the interior comprehensively burnt out. I started brainstorming hot rod ideas almost immediately.
* Still dabbling with reverse-engineering old Eastern-bloc paper models of aircraft carrier ships into much larger mixed-media models. I have seven downloaded patterns of a planned eight...but my internal math estimates that each "plate" in the scale I'm working with means $10 in materials. So I'll need funding of one form or another.
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Technology Has Just Turned Another Corner
This picture postcard isn't a photograph.
Nor is it a painting.
This is a computer model. In 3D.
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Machines And Minds
Radiolab did a very good program on Artificial Intelligence; I heard it overday.
As I'm sure I said before, there is little in the way of problems that an AI could solve better than a human being as yet. Tho' I was thinking of one possibility.
Suppose a Cleverbot-variety AI were to go through your existing canon of social media output. Every face, space, tweet and blog. Every text, pic and vid. And then it would find "keys" in that content and ask you about them. Perhaps get to to think about why you say what you say. Maybe find your psychological or social "blind spots" and help you work through them.
As I'm sure I said before, there is little in the way of problems that an AI could solve better than a human being as yet. Tho' I was thinking of one possibility.
Suppose a Cleverbot-variety AI were to go through your existing canon of social media output. Every face, space, tweet and blog. Every text, pic and vid. And then it would find "keys" in that content and ask you about them. Perhaps get to to think about why you say what you say. Maybe find your psychological or social "blind spots" and help you work through them.
My Own Private K-Tel
I apologize if you don't know or remember K-Tel. I just happened to grow up with their adverts sponsoring the UHF station afternoon cartoon shows...that was my education in contemporary music prior to 1980. :)
Over the weekend an app on Facebook pointed me to a free download program that specializes in converting the audio portions of Flash Video files (as in, what I download from YouTube) to actual .MP3 format. So far I've converted over 200 videos in two new directories, so I can add them to my music collection and make archive disks.
Over the weekend an app on Facebook pointed me to a free download program that specializes in converting the audio portions of Flash Video files (as in, what I download from YouTube) to actual .MP3 format. So far I've converted over 200 videos in two new directories, so I can add them to my music collection and make archive disks.
Titan At Play
Yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of taking Polish paper model scans and trying to find some worthwhile activity from them...
The aircraft carrier I acquired the other day is 1/200th scale as-is. To bring it up to 1/72nd (so I can pose my collection of airplane models on her deck) RonyaSoft ProPoster sez that by enlargening each plate to 23" wide (proportional scale) each graphics plate would take up eight legal size sheets.
If I were enlargening a 1/33rd scale plane to 1/6th (so that if somebody gave me a World Peacekeepers action figure pilot I could put him in a Hawker Tempest V fighter, for instance), that would mean a 45" wide plate and each plate would take up 30 sheets of paper.
If I wanted a 1/25th scale tank enlargened to 1/6th (so a WP tanker would be driving a Cromwell I happen to have on file), that's a 35" wide plate for 20 sheets per plate.
Whereas a 1/15th scale Volga car I've got enlargened to 1/6th (I've got my excuse) would mean a 21" wide plate and only eight sheets per plate.
I'm gonna need some ink.
The aircraft carrier I acquired the other day is 1/200th scale as-is. To bring it up to 1/72nd (so I can pose my collection of airplane models on her deck) RonyaSoft ProPoster sez that by enlargening each plate to 23" wide (proportional scale) each graphics plate would take up eight legal size sheets.
If I were enlargening a 1/33rd scale plane to 1/6th (so that if somebody gave me a World Peacekeepers action figure pilot I could put him in a Hawker Tempest V fighter, for instance), that would mean a 45" wide plate and each plate would take up 30 sheets of paper.
If I wanted a 1/25th scale tank enlargened to 1/6th (so a WP tanker would be driving a Cromwell I happen to have on file), that's a 35" wide plate for 20 sheets per plate.
Whereas a 1/15th scale Volga car I've got enlargened to 1/6th (I've got my excuse) would mean a 21" wide plate and only eight sheets per plate.
I'm gonna need some ink.
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Related To Previous Post
I just downloaded a paper model .PDF file from RapidShare, and noticed through my search for the file that a lot of hosting sites have been hit with takedown notices or Russian viruses. If you have your eye on a download, get it now--but be very careful about it.
Be On The Lookout...
THIS is the Malware that took Precious out of action over the weekend. Update your protection software if you can because this is one (in the words of Mission Control in Thexder for Windows 95) pretty obnoxious crock of crud.
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The Really Off-Season
Friday evening Precious got hit with the grpconv.exe Malware attack and is at the shop now. I'm using Mum's compy when I can and trying not to fall too far behind on things.
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I Posted This First On Facebook
Another Idea I Have NO WAY To Exploit
The other day, the news had a story about two local high school kids who were using a Kinect to develop orthotics (replacement limbs and other such devices) technology.
I just had a more commercial idea, spurred by a conversation at![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ps238principal.
In theory a Kinect can be programmed to take your measurements for apparel sizing. This could even be incorporated into a game software so kids can try being fashion designers. But the "killer app" would be with actual clothiers. They could request this data from customers, and then use it to build virtual mannekins upon which to show off their products.
I don't own an Xbox or a Kinect. I don't know their language. I don't know anybody in the programming or games industry. I do know some people in fashion, but they are all low-tech. Where can I take this idea?
The other day, the news had a story about two local high school kids who were using a Kinect to develop orthotics (replacement limbs and other such devices) technology.
I just had a more commercial idea, spurred by a conversation at
ps238principal.In theory a Kinect can be programmed to take your measurements for apparel sizing. This could even be incorporated into a game software so kids can try being fashion designers. But the "killer app" would be with actual clothiers. They could request this data from customers, and then use it to build virtual mannekins upon which to show off their products.
I don't own an Xbox or a Kinect. I don't know their language. I don't know anybody in the programming or games industry. I do know some people in fashion, but they are all low-tech. Where can I take this idea?
Come Together, Right Now!--Over Me...
On Facebook I "Like" the Giveaway Of The Day--free software downloads. Among the offers this past week: RonyaSoft's Poster Printer, which I'm playing with. I'm not so much interested in posters as such, tho' that looks fun...I'm blowing up paper models. And so far, it looks like the RonyaSoft program is going to save me both effort and money, by cutting down the number of pages I'd need to print to get the same results.
I haven't decided which model to start with. Tho' that 1/72nd scale Colossus-class aircraft carrier project is the most tempting!
I haven't decided which model to start with. Tho' that 1/72nd scale Colossus-class aircraft carrier project is the most tempting!
Close Encounter Of The Karmann Kind
I was having problems with uploading up to tonight, but I guess it was because there were glitches in the software driving my modem. New software put on it a couple hours ago, seems to be working.
1964 Karmann for sale in Dandridge. Moonshine pays a social call.