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Landscapes: Volume One from Dustin Farrell on Vimeo.

They say deserts and oceans are for the introspective...

There are times when we must arm ourselves with dignity, deliberate action or thought. When the weapon of choice to fight, possibly to the death, is the beyonet of the mind.

Book Skewer

Hey, I started another blog. Check it out: Book Skewer I tend to read 2-4 books a month on average so a book review blog is a natural occurrence. If your an avid reader have a look. Its in the midst of the early construction stages but someday it will be even more grand than Knight Skewer. Can you imagine? And its another outlet for my opinionated rants. What could be better?

What Is Toronto?????

In the eyes of IBM they recently won a huge victory by creating a ones and zeros monster named Watson. This video shows them elated in teary eyed celebration over their creepy contraption's Jeopardy win: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI-M7O_bRNg



In reality they either "Deep Blued" Trebek like they did Kasparov or they've blindly pushed the envelope of artificial intelligence closer to the end of humanity as we know it. Witness two thirds of the science fiction genre.

My concern is that IBM reaches an artificial intelligence escape velocity while only paying token attention to the consequences. No one is publicly asking "Is this the right thing to do?" Probably because IBM people don't care. Their agenda is more, faster, business domination, fortune and glory. But not everything needs to be explored. Not everything needs to be created. Until we start having serious democratic discussions on what needs to be and what doesn't, we will continue blindly into an irreversible anything goes society while stumbling deeper into Plato's cave, deeper than whence we came.

Also, whats with the Orwellian name? "Watson" is supposed to be the side kick and side kicks are never smarter than the superhero. I just cant trust that face.

Watson is not a step forward, its a step backward by its lack of ethical consideration. We know from past experience how IBM will react to any such criticism.

Here is Kasparov's take on the situation via The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/02/exclusive-garry-kasparov-on-ibms-watson/71584/#

Chess Baron

I added a link to the Chess Baron on my sidebar. http://www.chessbaron.co.uk/ Check it out. He has good deals on chess supplies and a huge selection. You know Im all about good deals. Mostly because Im broke and smart... and broke.

Atlas Shrugged Part 1

I havent been this exited for a movie in long time. Call me a huge nerd. I have a chessblog after all.

http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/

The Death Of A Chess Loser

It appears that the infamous Chess Loser has deleted his blog. Maybe I'm way late on this funeral of subtle irony but he will be missed. May he be self deprecating where ever he finds himself.

Where's Your Head At?

Endgameclothing.com released a couple new shirts a while ago. This one asks "Wheres your head at?"

Middle school: In the toilet getting a swirly.

High school: Staring at the girl who only eats lunch with other girls. Wondering how she is able to sustain herself on one yogurt per day alone.

20s: In the coffee house window looking like a hep cat pretending that drinking from a nasty mug that homeless people use doesnt bother you.

30s: Rockin out to the Smiths



The rest would just be speculation at this point.

A Word On The Protests In Madison WI

What we are not hearing from the Rs the Ds or the protesters are the ideas everyone should be talking about: How does this effect the children? How will this effect Wisconsin education?

Instead we are arguing over what teachers deserve. This particular silence is much louder and more telling than words.