Over brekkie I watched
the antics of Warwick Davies in "Life's Too Short".
He was making a fool of himself in front of Sting and Cat Deeley
today.
"Furry Face TM"
slept through most of brekkie; he did come over when I waved the
brush at him; he likes being combed. But, as is often the way on a
Monday morning, he did seem to still be tired out from the Sunday
walk.
To work; as I drove the
news told that for the first time a computer has been built that
passes
the Turing Test. Basically in a Turing Test the person
conducting the test sits in one room; a computer or another person in
another, and the two communicate. For a computer to pass the Turing
Test the first person must be unable to determine whether they are
conversing with a person or with a machine.
On the one hand the
development of artificial intelligence software that is
indistinguishable from human behaviour is amazing. On the other hand
I've met several people who wouldn't have sufficient wit to pass a
Turing Test. Perhaps the standard has been lowered since Alan Turing
developed the idea.
The pundits also
announced that serious research is taking place in the field of
improving the lifetime of the batteries
in our mobile phones. It's no secret that our mobiles are amazing
devices, but their ability and computing power has fast outstripped
our ability to power the things. Apparently there is big money to be
made for a battery which last longer.
Who would have thought
it?
I once again stopped off
in Morrisons to get some fruit for lunch. I was once again amazed at
the rudeness of the staff who (yet again) were more interested
in their petty gossiping than in dealing with the paying public.
Lunchtime sax practice
went reasonably well. I have three new tunes to master. "Row,
row, row your boat" is relatively straight-forward. "In
dulci jubilo" is getting there, but the third tune (a
nursery rhyme medley) leaves a little to be desired. I'm hoping
that the sax mouthpiece cushioning I bought on the way home might
help.
Once home I walked my dog
round the park; we played our curious version of fetch in which I
throw a ball and he eats it. With "er indoors TM"
off bowling I spent a little while ironing shirts. Dull...
And in closing Rik Mayall
died today. Bearing in mind he's been the funniest thing on the telly
for the last twenty years he'll be sadly missed. Mind you I'm showing
my age on this one; most of my younger colleagues had never heard of
him...
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