Around The Bend

How to Tell If You’re Chatting with a Bot
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"Artificial intelligence (AI) is invading every aspect of our lives. So much is ruled by algorithms you could make the case that the robot uprising has already occurred and we lost, and lost badly. Robots decide what song plays next, robots recommend TV shows, and robots are even getting pretty good at writing and creating music. Most of us are fine with that. AI tends to automate tasks we want automated, like the aforementioned streaming recommendations, and on some level we’re all aware of these bots in our lives, so our interactions with them are more or less voluntary. But there’s another way that AI is invading our lives, and we’re not usually even aware of it: Conversational AI. From chatbots to Tinder bots (yes, really), bots are pretending to be human and having conversations with us—often without identifying themselves."

"Luckily, conversational AI hasn’t yet reached perfection, and it’s possible to detect a bot—though that may change soon enough as technology advances. For the time being, if you want to know if you’re dealing with a bot, there are a few strategies that should reveal the truth." READ MORE
 

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Robots in a Bookshop Cafe
Karen B. Jones - March 2, 2018

"Here’s a silly picture of robots reading in a bookshop cafe. I liked the idea of something so digital-age as a robot doing something so analog as reading from a paper book."

"It was fun to design all the different kinds of robots. I almost drew it with all sorts of movie/TV robots instead. You know, brainbots, cybermen, C-3PO, Wall-E, etc. But I think I had more fun making up my own."

"Not sure if you can tell at this resolution, but this cafe serves oil, batteries, memory sticks, CD’s, and the odd bit of hardware as robot snacks."

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Captain Kirk's "New" Cloaking Device (2013)
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"If you're a fan of Star Trek, you'll recall that original series episode where Captain James T. Kirk steals a cloaking device from the Romulans to hide his ship from danger. We'll today in the 21st. Century if Captain Kirk needed a cloaking device the US Navy can now simply issue him one. Seriously? All joking aside, yes! And that's exactly what happened this month. Yes that's right!"
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"The US Navy gave Captain Kirk a cloaking device. That is Captain James A. Kirk of the United States Navy. He has been given command of the first DDG-1000 Class Destroyer with stealth capability, the USS Zumwalt."
 
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After Only 3 Years in Service, the USS Zumwalt’s Mission Is Changing (2019)
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"The USS Zumwalt and her two sister ships are undergoing a dramatic change of mission just three years after the first ship was commissioned. The destroyers, originally meant to provide naval gunfire support for the Marines and bombard targets far inland, are now being reorientated to a ship-killer role."

"The Zumwalt-class of destroyers was meant to dramatically boost the fleet’s gun firepower. After the retirement of the four Iowa-class battleships in the early 1990s, the service studied a number of solutions before deciding on the Zumwalts. Each ship would be equipped with two 155-millimeter Advanced Gun Systems, each firing a precision-guided Long Range Land Attack Projectile to ranges of up to 83 miles."
 
Leonard Nimoy does a William Shatner Impression on Hero Complex: The Show - Part 2

Comment: "Leonard Nimoy created a character that transcended a small screen, and even a large screen. He made being smart and logical and respectful and responsible 'cool' - and had the ability to not take it all too seriously. Such a likable and talented soul. Thanks for the memories..."

Comment: "Jim Kirk saying that of all the souls he encountered Spock's was the most Human, was so touching."
 
"This documentary is the real story of the legendary Polish 303 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in World War II, the highest scoring unit in the Battle of Britain. This follows their journey all the way from Poland to England and all of the challenges that they faced along the way."

Did a Few Reckless Pilots Save the World? "303" The Documentary
 
Meanderer said:
"This documentary is the real story of the legendary Polish 303 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in World War II, the highest scoring unit in the Battle of Britain. This follows their journey all the way from Poland to England and all of the challenges that they faced along the way."

Did a Few Reckless Pilots Save the World? "303" The Documentary
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Wow, just wow. Thanks, M. I was proud to learn about the 303 Squadron.
 
The fascinating beginning of the term ‘grunt’

"Major H.G. Duncan of the United States Marine Corps once defined a grunt as, "a term of affection used to denote that filthy, sweaty, dirt-encrusted, footsore, camouflage-painted, tired, sleepy, beautiful little son of a b***h who has kept the wolf away from the door for over two hundred years."

"This origin story takes us back to the second World War when infantry units sustained extremely high casualty rates, forcing troops from rear-echelon units (often referred to as rear-echelon motherf*****s or REMF) forward they were quickly trained, often in-theatre, to be foot soldiers. These troops were categorized as "General Replacement Unit, Not Trained," or GRUNT. A POG is a "Person Other than Grunt)." (READ MORE)
 
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On November 18, 1307 William Tell Shot an Apple Off His Son's Head.....
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An illustration by Philip Dadd for P. G. Wodehouse’s William Tell Told Again, 1904.
 
I love this video and this song!

George Beverly Shea - The Love of God

Lyrics:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,And reaches to the lowest hell;

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

[Refrain]
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
 
Meanderer said:
Here's two very different versions of Moon River, that I found. Judy Garland seems to be singing at her garage sale, and its sad when we see her face remember to smile. On the other hand, Elton John in color, seems to bring a touch of 'rocket man' to the song!
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Thanks Meanderer: I love both those versions, never heard Elton singing someone else's song. Just great.
 
"ABBA is undoubtedly Australia's favourite pop group of all time, and that affection remains as strong today as it did four decades ago when the Swedish singers first toured the country. Recently, Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid returned to the studio, recording new music and preparing for a very unusual world tour. Rahni Sadler sat down with members of the band for an unforgettable interview."

This story originally aired on September 17 2017.
RARE ABBA INTERVIEW: Band members on songs, Mamma Mia and world tour
 
"In this lighthearted talk Dominic Walliman gives us four guiding principles for easy science communication and unravels the myth that quantum physics is difficult to understand, it’s all in how it’s explained."


Quantum Physics for 7 Year Olds | Dominic Walliman | TEDxEastVan
 
Eddie Bauer aplinists Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards just returned from an incredible journey up Mount Everest, which they captured in it's entirety through Snapchat via their EverestNoFilter story. Throughout all of their fan interaction, one of the most frequently asked questions was, "How do you go to the bathroom?"

The complicated way climbers go to the bathroom on Mount Everest
 

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