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The characteristic feature of the loser is to bemoan, in general terms, mankind's flaws, biases, contradictions and irrationality-without exploiting them for fun and profit

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Messages - Abbot Mythos

#1531
High Weirdness / Re: Ark Encounter
July 21, 2016, 10:55:38 AM
Three (3) posts? Seriously, that's it? Three (3) posts, and you call that a thread highjacking?! That's not a thread highjacking, that's just pitiful.

Anyway, Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," toured the new Ark Encounter theme park, and had this to say:

"On a hopeful note, the parking lots were largely empty, and the ark building is unfinished. We can hope it will close soon."

Here's the link to the full article: http://www.sltrib.com/home/4106022-155/a-flood-of-contention-bill-nye

Oh, and from the picture, their ark doesn't even float, or anything. At $40 for adults ($31 for seniors), $28 for children, and $10 for parking, I'd, at least, expect the thing to float.
#1532
Literate Chaotic / Re: Five word horror
July 15, 2016, 07:52:13 PM
Quote from: Gray Area on July 14, 2016, 12:09:34 AM
Quote from: Gray Area on July 12, 2016, 07:47:58 AM
Quote from: Gray Area on July 08, 2016, 08:54:19 PM
Another day, another mass shooting.

Our technology outpaces our wisdom.

Humans kill their own species.

Another day, another mass killing.
#1533
Literate Chaotic / Re: Five word horror
July 14, 2016, 12:09:34 AM
Quote from: Gray Area on July 12, 2016, 07:47:58 AM
Quote from: Gray Area on July 08, 2016, 08:54:19 PM
Another day, another mass shooting.

Our technology outpaces our wisdom.

Humans kill their own species.
#1534
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on July 06, 2016, 06:16:29 PM
These 3 vids are the ones that I found the most useful in helping me grasp the concept. I was coming at it from a programmers point of view - "How do I code it" Turns out that was the wrong question. You don't code it, it just works.

CNN's are only part of the picture but they're a good starting point. Now I I can grok them, a lot of the other stuff makes more sense.

https://youtu.be/l42lr8AlrHk

https://youtu.be/C_zFhWdM4ic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py5byOOHZM8

I reviewed those YouTube clips and they did help me gain more of an understanding of ANNs.

I also reviewed the following Wikipedia article on ANNs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_neural_network

In the 'External Links' section of the above article they list the following link: http://www.dkriesel.com/en/science/neural_networks

On that site you can download the book, A Brief Introduction to Neural Networks by David Kriesel, in PDF form. I downloaded the book, read a number of chapters in depth, and skimmed through the rest. Overall, I found the book very helpful.

That Wikipedia article on ANNs also led me to their article on Machine learning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_learning

This article was also helpful, and the 'Software' section lists 'Free and open-source software'. Seeing that, I went over to SourceForge and searched 'artificial neural network'. To my surprise, I got 751 program hits!

Here's my SourceForge link: https://sourceforge.net/directory/os:windows/?q=artificial%20neural%20network

So, on the surface, it appears that I just might be able to treat an ANN software package like an electrical engineer's 'black box', and make it work for me as long as I can figure out how to program the inputs and outputs.

Now I have to decide if I want to try to take my new found, but superficial knowledge to the next level. Just for the hell of it, I did some 'if/then' AI programming for an open-source game a few years ago. So, I do have some programming skills, and the right ANN software package just might be adaptable to that particular open-source game, or another one I'm familiar with. Still, as I only get the urge to write code on a 'once in a blue moon' basis, I have to go through a 'relearning curve' every time I do it.

Anyway, I now know a little bit about Artificial Neural Networks. So, thanks for your original and your follow-up posts.   
#1535
High Weirdness / Re: Ark Encounter
July 13, 2016, 05:40:04 AM
Quote from: Pergamos on July 13, 2016, 02:21:13 AM
Dinosaurs are extinct, the flood is a convenient reason why.  Why wold someone insist that dinosaurs were on the ark?

Fundamentalism.
#1536
Quote from: Mesozoic Mister Nigel on July 13, 2016, 04:19:10 AM
So... Philistines may originally have been Cretins?

I'm sure the Israelites called them worse than that.

Nevertheless, there appears to be some kind of a connection between Crete and the cities of the Philistines, based upon striking similarities in pottery found in both places. Perhaps the Cretans and Philistines were merely trading partners, but future DNA testing should be able to tell us something more about the origins of the Philistines.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find a really good article about 'Kamares ware' on the Internet. Nor could I find anything about the treasure trove of 'Kamares ware-like pottery' (My words.) found at a Philistine archeological site back in the late '80s, or early '90s, that I distinctly remember seeing photographs of in the newspapers. And, my own photographs of Kamares ware from various Greek museums are still buried away on 35mm slides, that I have yet to convert into digital photographs. (Those along with a couple of thousand other 35mm slides.) If, however, you Google 'Kamares ware' in image mode, an array of distinctive pottery photos will come up. I think most people would agree that it is extremely unlikely that so distinctive a style could have developed independently by two separated cultures at about the same point in time.

And, there is an overlap between the Minoan civilization and the Mycenaean civilization on Crete. It would take a couple of pages for me to try to explain what I know, and what I don't know, about the similarities and differences between the two civilizations. But, in short, I'll just say that I would not be completely surprised if DNA testing finds that the Philistines have a Cretan origin. However, I believe it is more likely that DNA testing will reveal a more general Mycenaean origin. And, hopefully, in the near future, we will know for sure where the Philistines really came from. (Another distinct possibility is the Anatolian peninsula.)
#1537
High Weirdness / Ark Encounter
July 13, 2016, 01:10:52 AM
'BIGGER THAN IMAGINATION

A life-sized Noah's Ark experience.
Come and be amazed.'

Here's the site's link: https://arkencounter.com/

The ark is, of course, located in Kentucky, the state where family trees mostly have only one branch. (It's really hard for me to believe that Kentucky sided with the Union during the Civil War. Go figure.)

Hrafnkell Haraldsson from politicususa.com had this to say about Ark Encounter:

'Built With Tax Breaks , Ark Encounter Hires Only Christians but Scams All'

WARNING: Politicususa is partisan as all hell. (But, that's why I like it!)

Anyway, here's the link to the politicususa.com article: http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07/11/tax-dollars-ark-encounter-hires-christians.html

I found this quote from Haraldsson to be especially interesting:

'Look, we've all seen the Jurassic Park movies, right? Even if you haven't, you've head of dinosaurs? I submit to you, if, as Ken Ham insists, Noah's Ark also carried dinosaurs, then it came to rest on the top of Mount Ararat a ship of the dead. Because if you throw a T-Rex or a few raptors on that thing, everything else is going to be eaten.'

I thought perhaps Haraldsson was exaggerating, until I found this quotation on another page of the Ark Encounter site:

'... Levi, an AiG fabricator for the Ark Encounter, is working on applying the fabric fur to Mr. Anisodon. This guy and his mate are going to live in the second-largest pen size on the Ark. The only larger cage on the ship will contain a pair of young nigersaurs—a variety of sauropods: big plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks and tails.'

So yep, they're actually going there. Here's the proof: https://arkencounter.com/blog/2016/06/21/half-furred-anisodon/
#1538
Literate Chaotic / Re: Five word horror
July 13, 2016, 01:08:18 AM
Horror is an art form.
#1539
Apple Talk / Re: Apocrypha Discordia
July 12, 2016, 01:38:33 PM
So, how's the writing progressing?
#1540
'Bones unearthed in Ashkelon at only known Philistine cemetery may reveal ancient mystery'

Here's the link to the article: http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Bones-unearthed-in-Ashkelon-at-only-known-Philistine-cemetery-may-reveal-ancient-mystery-459973

I posted this as a new, separate topic, as there should be additional news on this subject coming in the near future. My personal interest in this subject is the Philistines possible link to Crete, as mentioned in the following quotation from this article:

'Several Biblical passages link the Philistines to ancient Crete. At the same time, archeologists have long noted dramatic cultural changes in the Ashkelon region in the early 12th century BCE, roughly at the time when ancient Egyptian texts mention "Sea Peoples" moving into the eastern Mediterranean.

Using these clues, scholars have argued that the Philistines emigrated from the Aegean in the early Iron Age, bringing the cultural practices of their homeland, which appear to have been pointedly different from those prevailing at the time in the area.'

In addition to the above mentioned Biblical references, pottery has also been found at Philistine sites in Israel that bear a striking similarity to the distinctive 'Kamares ware' pottery found on Crete.

And, as an added bonus, after reading this article you can also read the 'Conversation' section from the people of 'The Promised Land'.
#1541
Literate Chaotic / Re: Five word horror
July 12, 2016, 07:47:58 AM
Quote from: Gray Area on July 08, 2016, 08:54:19 PM
Another day, another mass shooting.

Our technology outpaces our wisdom.
#1542
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on July 11, 2016, 05:29:57 PM
If this shit isn't exactly what it sounds like I will kill a mofo  :argh!:

Cos it sounds like we can now build cyborg fish. You ever hear something that's so fucking cool, you plain don't have the heart to fact check it?

I wonder if this will eventually be recognized as Great-Grandfather of Cyborg Frankenfish.
#1543
Literate Chaotic / Re: Five word horror
July 08, 2016, 08:54:19 PM
Another day, another mass shooting.
#1544
Techmology and Scientism / Re: Ancient Astronomy
July 07, 2016, 09:10:32 PM
'Antikythera Mechanism May Have Been World's First 'STEM' Project'

I found the following quote from the article to be especially interesting:

'... the researchers are adamant that this was not a one-off model. While such mechanisms depicting sophisticated astronomical models may have not been plentiful during this epoch, they were known among the Greco-Roman intelligentsia of the day.

"And the one we have was obviously not the first to be made," said Jones. " It is too complicated; too miniature to have been the prototype."'

Here's the link to the article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2016/06/30/antikythera-mechanism-may-have-been-worlds-first-stem-project/#4701d6b110c7

I believe interest in the Antikythera Mechanism has continued to grow as researchers have published more and more of their findings. Back in the '80s, the device had been placed all the way in the back of The National Archaeological Museum of Athens. If you weren't looking at every single exhibit item, or specifically looking for the device, you could have walked right past it without noticing it. However, when I visited the museum a few years ago, it had been relocated to the front and center of the main entrance.
#1545
Literate Chaotic / Re: Five word horror
July 07, 2016, 05:24:54 PM
Want to see my tattoo?