spring, and the days slip by
Spring, it seems, has finally reared its windy, rainy head. What a joy it is to be outside without that biting chill we have endured for so long. The seasons pass and I trudge along, forgetting more and more each day, memories falling like so many grains of sand slipping through my clenched fist.
I saw Chappie on Easter Friday and thought it was decent; not perfect by any means, but I enjoyed it. I'm sure others will pick on the acting, the plot, and the corny voice and mannerisms of the titular robot, but I was particularly troubled by the simplification of what's involved in writing an artificial intelligence! The brain is not a blank slate that can be filled easily; it has built-in tendencies and algorithms -- Chappie displayed a sense of right and wrong, of justice, of community, and these are not simple things to describe, let alone develop a script for. Additionally, if the programmer built an algorithm to grow a brain, can he not make many more thinking machines? That is the true value of his work, not (from a species standpoint) a one-off test result, no matter how endearing.
This past Friday I met up with some really old friends -- Risto and Dan and the rest of the crew. A short reunion but it was heartening to see them in good spirits. They are all parents now, though I found them otherwise unchanged from how I remember them. I then zipped via taxi up to Junction City Music Hall out in the Junction to catch a friend's band playing, where I ran into one of my cousins! Such was the evening, and I celebrated life merrily.
Yesterday, I drove out to Kitchener to play A Game of Thrones with some good friends. I feel that I like all the mechanics of the game, but the actual playing of it is quite tiring. Perhaps it's the mountain of options available which leads me to cast my moves haphazardly, too drained to think of how to optimize my turn. I mean, in theory I like programming the paper-scissors-rock action for each province but once the number of borders gets really high in the late game, it becomes a bit much. I actually think I'd enjoy the game more as a computer play-by-mail game. But whatever, we had (some) fun, and lots of good eats -- a variety of desserts, thick grilled cheese sandwiches (to hold us over) and soft, glistening beef brisket for dinner.
And HEY -- if you haven't yet noticed, I've been filling in the older entries. Take a gander at Hwan of days of old and marvel at his foolishness.
I saw Chappie on Easter Friday and thought it was decent; not perfect by any means, but I enjoyed it. I'm sure others will pick on the acting, the plot, and the corny voice and mannerisms of the titular robot, but I was particularly troubled by the simplification of what's involved in writing an artificial intelligence! The brain is not a blank slate that can be filled easily; it has built-in tendencies and algorithms -- Chappie displayed a sense of right and wrong, of justice, of community, and these are not simple things to describe, let alone develop a script for. Additionally, if the programmer built an algorithm to grow a brain, can he not make many more thinking machines? That is the true value of his work, not (from a species standpoint) a one-off test result, no matter how endearing.
This past Friday I met up with some really old friends -- Risto and Dan and the rest of the crew. A short reunion but it was heartening to see them in good spirits. They are all parents now, though I found them otherwise unchanged from how I remember them. I then zipped via taxi up to Junction City Music Hall out in the Junction to catch a friend's band playing, where I ran into one of my cousins! Such was the evening, and I celebrated life merrily.
Yesterday, I drove out to Kitchener to play A Game of Thrones with some good friends. I feel that I like all the mechanics of the game, but the actual playing of it is quite tiring. Perhaps it's the mountain of options available which leads me to cast my moves haphazardly, too drained to think of how to optimize my turn. I mean, in theory I like programming the paper-scissors-rock action for each province but once the number of borders gets really high in the late game, it becomes a bit much. I actually think I'd enjoy the game more as a computer play-by-mail game. But whatever, we had (some) fun, and lots of good eats -- a variety of desserts, thick grilled cheese sandwiches (to hold us over) and soft, glistening beef brisket for dinner.
And HEY -- if you haven't yet noticed, I've been filling in the older entries. Take a gander at Hwan of days of old and marvel at his foolishness.
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