MORNING
Who remembers this shape, seen on old globes and really old sundials? I knew it was the pattern the sun moves in the sky if you watch it at the same time for a year. I finally found out what it is used for. Navigation. Aw, you guessed. As the Earth orbits the Sun, it gets a little nearer and closer over the year, causing slight timing differences between each noon as seen against the background stars.
I was up late reading the latest on robots. Sadly, I see the same failings happening over again as with computers. The labs, whether military or independent or whatever quickly gobble up all the easy approaches when a field is new.
The pattern is three-step. There is a generation of true innovation, then a second generation follows that lacks imagination, preferring to popularize the technology. Following on their heels, the third generation is concerned only with making money. Hence, real computer advances and innovation slowed down twenty years ago with the arrival of the Internet. Since then, no major new inventions.
I see the same pattern with robots and the point is arguable because the similarities are not visible close up. But take that scientist who is modeling robots on the human brain. The problem is, he is not picking the elite of humans. Instead, he is choosing general human behavior, also know as bulk stupidity, and the resulting robots will suffer the same problems of disorganization and lack of judgment. Or the design based on insect behavior. While insects eventually get the job done, is behaving that way a step in the right direction?
I feel the first generation is gone, they brought us all the major types of robot design that exist. Nothing new since. The hexapod, the fish, the crawler, the humanoid, the snake. Expensive as hell, but at least they established the demand for components which enable the second generation to start making toys. Movie animations, grunting video arcades, Mars rovers, drones, and deep sea bots. That’s where we are now. It’s what’s coming next that dismays me.
The third generation of robots are about to emerge. Like computers, except for details of manufacture, no progress as the major companies attempt to dominate the market with their humanoid servants. That’s the concept of robotics that really thrills the simple-minded. A robot slave. It will spawn a new way of living, but do not confuse that with advancement. Like computers, robots have the potential to make everyone more stupid except the crooks.
And the military? They will insist on being involved if only because they know they can be replaced. There is little a soldier can do or think that a robot could not duplicate. They’ll make a big deal about who makes the kill decision, because humans have such a great track record on that one. You know.
Call me a pessimist, but that’s what I see in the stars. The world will build robots that look and act like humans despite countless millennia of history saying don’t go there. I can only hope that something occurs to steer robotics back toward an ideal of perfection rather than another household good for the amusement of the masses.
NOON
I drive over to the motorcycle shop to find out my front brakes are gone ($120), my radiator is about to give out ($200) and my control cables are rusted ($60). This is not a complaint. I have a budget for such repairs on a 1978 vehicle and I also have the cash to pay for it. So those who smirk can get off their high horse. I recall what car repairs used to cost, so I’m sitting pretty. The total spent this time ($880) is a joke compared to the same repairs on an older car, the more so when you consider $490 of it was parts. I'll stick with my motorcycle. And I insist on top quality parts.
On the way home, maybe five-ish, I get clobbered by a rainstorm and pull into Triple B (Buddy’s Place) for a spell. Who do I run across but good old Carlos? That’s the guy with the van that crashed in the big place before Wallace decided to play big shot.
Carlos is the bass player who moved to New York. That’s the guy. It would seem that I am not the only person to whom Wallace made promises he had no hope (or intention) of keeping.
Indeed, the old club is for sale. The price is around $20k and my guess of the monthly overhead is around $3k. Way out of my league. And when it goes to the consortium, it will become just as socially sterile and characterless as all the other joints owned by that outfit. Unless you like sitting around drinking with a troop of middle-aged married men. Then, you’d like it.
The band from the new audition never called back and it’s been a week. Time to face the facts, there are no available decent guitar players in Broward County. The few who can play already are and the rest are long-term wannabes. Time to sit down and mull over my options. If I could afford it, I’d move to Texas, probably Austin.
NIGHT
Shopping for a Goldwing. Here is something I found in Winter Haven. If course, I’d have to ride the train up there to drive it back. This is an 81, but with only 28k on it, asking price $1,800. Did you know many people wonder why I drive old motorcycles and live in a trailer court until they find out one particularly interesting fact, then they nod and say, “Ah, now it makes sense.” Until that happens to all, here’s more data.
The boxer motor, shown here is not fuel injected. Not to be confused with opposed piston motors, this Goldwing is a design partnership of Porsch and Honda. In a boxer, the pistons are horizontally opposed. Each pair are either up or down the cylinder at the same time.
ADDENDUM
Don’t you love the way Win 8 is super slow at reading external disks? Our favorite has got to be the way the message always appears saying “This disk is empty” before it begins its laborious search. How insipid can they get?
