Messages

"Success has many fathers, but failure is always a bastard."

- Wisdom passed down from of an Old Salt.

[Trump's closing argument to New Hampshire: Presidents must be able to commit crimes]

"Trump's closing argument to New Hampshire: Presidents must be able to commit crimes"

As per this article:

"The president of the United States, Trump told Hannity, "has to have immunity."

"If you take immunity away from the president—so important—you will have a president that's not going to be able to do anything," Trump stressed. "Because when he leaves office, the opposing party—president, if it's the opposing party—will indict the president for doing something that should have been good."

And by something "good," Trump presumably means something like incite a violent riot at the Capitol to interrupt the country's 200-year history of a peaceful transfer of power."

I guess being a criminal defendant, not to mention being a serial civil defendant, can be really tough, even for someone who was once the POTUS.

Here's the link:   Defendant Says POTUS Has to Have Immunity

[Artificial intelligence may benefit from talking to itself]

"Artificial intelligence may benefit from talking to itself"

"An inner monologue can help a machine learn to perform complex tasks more reliably"

As per this article:

"Many people say they have an inner monologue running through their heads, narrating their lives. The phenomenon, plus a wealth of research, suggests humans use language not only for communicating, but also for thinking.

Now, it seems artificial intelligence (AI) may benefit from imitating humans' inner monologue. In a laboratory experiment, tying language to actions improved an AI program's ability to learn complex tasks, researchers reported here last month at the Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) conference. The advance might enable AI to learn from, say, YouTube instructional videos."

This reminds me of the old joke: It's okay to talk to yourself. It's even okay to answer yourself. But, it's when you start arguing with yourself that you have a problem. Still, I just can't picture an AI arguing with itself in the same way I sometimes see MBIs doing it.

Here's the link:   AI May Benefit from Talking to Itself

[Novel snake-like robot 3D prints its own body to grow longer]

"Novel snake-like robot 3D prints its own body to grow longer"

As per this article:

"A trio of soft robotics researchers at Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, in Italy, working with a colleague from the University of Montpellier, in France, has developed a unique type of robot that 3D prints its own body as a means to grow longer. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes how they created their robot and the possible uses for it.

As science and technology continue to mature, scientists find novel ways to combine innovations into new types of technology. In this new effort, the research team combined robotics with 3D printing, resulting in the creation of a new kind of robot that can grow longer at will.

The robot is shaped like a snake and has a head that spins. As the head spins, it creates more body mass behind it using 3D printing, resulting in elongation of the robot. The robot can also be programmed to grow in desired ways, such as toward light, or against gravity. This gives the robot the ability to grow in a vine-like manner. The team has named their robot FiloBot."

Swell. It's only a matter of time before someone intentionally programs a robot to reproduce at will.

Here's the link:   Robot 3D Prints Its Own Body to Grow

[Kentucky Asks Aliens to Visit on Their UFOs in Fun Tourism Campaign: 'Just Don't Eat Us']

"Kentucky Asks Aliens to Visit on Their UFOs in Fun Tourism Campaign: 'Just Don't Eat Us'"

"Lexington scientists and scholars beamed a message to Earth-sized planets 40 light years away"

As per this article:

"A Kentucky tourism board is trying to attract new visitors — extraterrestrial ones — by sending a message to other planets.

The Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau (VisitLEX) recruited local scientists and scholars to beam the message to outer space using an infrared laser. They targeted any alien lifeforms potentially living on Earth-sized planets orbiting the TRAPPIST-1 star 40 light years away.

The message, which they sent from Kentucky Horse Park with approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, included a coded bitmap image containing clues to the origin and intent of the transmission, an audio recording from blues musician Tee Dee Young and photos of Lexington."

I can't help but wonder if the residences of Roswell, New Mexico will respond to Kentucky's tourism campaign. Will Roswell, or perhaps the state of New Mexico, be tempted to make the potential lifeforms of TRAPPIST-1 a better offer than fast horses, and 101 proof Wild Turkey bourbon?

Here's the link:   UFOs Welcomed to Kentucky

[The MAGA Casket Is Available Now]

"The MAGA Casket Is Available Now"

And, for cremations, it's available in regular and extra crispy!

Here's the link:   The MAGA Casket

[Florida Man Facing 91 Criminal Counts Wins Iowa Caucuses]

"Florida Man Facing 91 Criminal Counts Wins Iowa Caucuses"

"Donald Trump crushed his Republican rivals."

As per this article:

"Donald Trump just accomplished something he wasn't able to do in 2016—he won the Iowa caucuses. Not long after precinct sites opened Monday night, the networks called the first-in-the-nation GOP race for the former president, who appeared to be cruising to a dominant victory over rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley."

I wish I could write that this was unbelievable. But, it is today's 'Merica.

Here's the link:   The Republicult™ Chose Candidate Facing 91 Criminal Counts in Iowa

"When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind: it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the matter may be."

- Lord Kelvin (William Thomson)

[January 17, 1920 - The National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act) Went Into Effect]

January 17, 1920 - The National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act) Went Into Effect

The National Prohibition Act was passed to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Eighteenth Amendment had been ratified the previous year.

This act was a major factor in inciting some of the the rebellious "roar" of the Roaring Twenties, and unintentionally made numerous organized crime figures wealthy, powerful, and, in some cases, legends in their own time. It has also, again unintentionally, provided the entertainment industry with both source, and inspirational material for more than a century and counting.

[January 16, 1919 - The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Was Ratified]

January 16, 1919 - The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution Was Ratified

The Eighteenth Amendment declared the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors illegal. It did not, however, outlaw the actual consumption of alcohol.

I suspect organized crime bosses celebrated the ratification of this amendment.

[CES 2024: This AI-powered exoskeleton can help you trek further, run faster and carry more]

"CES 2024: This AI-powered exoskeleton can help you trek further, run faster and carry more"

"Go go gadget robo-legs!"

As per this article:

"If you've ever dreamed of being a human cyborg, like Inspector Gadget or Robocop, I've got some good news. Robotics startup Hypershell just unveiled its new ProX exoskeleton at CES 2024. This all-terrain, AI-assisted apparatus attaches to the legs and powers movement with a one-horsepower motor. Think of it as an e-assist for your lower body.

Built for outdoor adventurers and runners, it's designed to help users trek further and run faster using what Hypershell calls an "AI-based motion engine" that adapts to individual body styles and movements."

And, further along in this article:

"The Hypershell ProX attaches to a user's waist and thighs via adjustable straps. Power comes from an 800-watt (1-horsepower) motor, and users can dial in just how much assistance they want. At maximum power, you can cruise at speeds up to 12.4mph, which is quite fast for a human.

In addition to hiking and running, the ProX can be used for assistance while biking and even climbing. And it's not just for increasing range and speed. For backpackers, in particular, the Hypershell ProX offsets up to 66 pounds of carried weight to help reduce fatigue.

The exoskeleton has nine joints. One is active or connected to the motor, and the other eight are passive. Hypershell notes that this design gives users an enormous range of movement."

Well, I never really dreamed of being a human cyborg. But, I do have several pounds of titanium retrofitted to my OEM skeleton. So, by comparison, this exoskeleton isn't really all that strange, and it isn't anywhere near as expensive. But, it does require batteries.

Here's the link:   AI-powered Exoskeletons Now For Sale

[Mike Lee Says Americans Can Oppose 'Lawlessness' by Voting for Criminally Indicted Trump]

"Mike Lee Says Americans Can Oppose 'Lawlessness' by Voting for Criminally Indicted Trump"

No, this really isn't an article from The Onion.

As per this article:

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said Americans can score a victory for law and order by voting for former President Donald Trump, who is facing 91 criminal counts in four cases.

Lee appeared on Friday's installment of The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, where Laura Ingraham teased an announcement from the senator.

"Senator, I understand that you've decided whom you're going to endorse in the Republican primary," she said. "Are you going to share it with us tonight?"

"Yeah, I have made that decision," he replied. "The American people have a choice to make. In this circumstance, they have a rare, historically unusual chance to choose between two presidents. They have a chance to choose between order and lawlessness. They have an opportunity to choose between putting America first or America last.""

I wonder if The Republicult^TM will be serving more Kool-Aid at the entrances to the polling places.

Here's the link:   Senator Endorse's "Law and Order Candidate"