we have had some serious shitty weather around these parts for the past couple of weeks. it rained for, what felt like, days on end. it was windy and cold, too. the kids were couped up inside the house and it was getting on all of our nerves. the weather changed this past saturday for the better. i was at work, so i don’t count that. i was couped up inside the hospital friday, saturday, and sunday. 40 hours in 3 days just isn’t very fun. i know erik and the kids enjoyed the weather, though.

yesterday, though, we had a taste of summer. it was 76 degrees and gorgeous! eliza and i went on a great walk and after that we picked wyatt up from school and headed to colonel francis j. beatty park in matthews. for those of you that were here for poppie’s memorial 3 years ago, it is that park. it’s awesome and the kids love it! we played for about 3 hours with some friends and then headed home. we all needed a day like that.

checking out the lake and the ducks

eliza lingered a little bit. she loved the ducks and was trying to run down the hill toward the lake to get a really good look. you have to watch this girl closely.

swinging back up at the play area

View Eliza’s book here.

Eliza was a comuter shrink invented a long long time ago, like when my parents were kids. ELIZA is considered as the first chatter-bot. Basically, ELIZA was a parody on regular shrinks and would basically re-phrase everything the user typed in and turn it into a question that it would pose to the user again.

A general conversation would basically proceed as such:

Eliza: “What is your name?”

You: “Name”

Eliza: “What might be the problem?”

You: “My dog hates me and my pillow talks to me at night”

Definite issues and really bad photo editing.

Eliza: “Have you experienced hate from anyone other than your dog and talk from anyone other than your pillow?”

You: “Probably”

Eliza: “That is interesting. Do you think your dog hates you for a reason and your pillow talks to you for a reason?”

You: “I suppose.”

Eliza: “Why do you suppose?”

You: “What do you mean ‘why do I suppose’? I suppose because I can!”

Eliza: “That is interesting. What else can you suppose?”

You: “WHAT?!”

Eliza: “Interesing. And how does supposing ‘WHAT?!’ make you feel?”

And on and on and in a similar vein. Yes. The interesting part is that users actually believed ELIZA could help them and did even share problems with ELIZA.

But coming back, I only recently read a book called Gateway, which had a very cool robo-shrink name Sigfrid. Gateway is about an alien installation in space that was left behind by a mysterious race of aliens who vanished. The Gateway was found by humans and they started using the alien technology or whatever they understood of the alien technology and spawned a whole new job of ’space prospecting’

HORROR OF HORRORS! STINKY PETE IN SPACE!

because the aliens have also left behind space ships that can take you to places you don’t know. Leading either to death or to untold riches.

Possibly one of the best books I have read in recent times, it also has black holes! Recommend that you should read. Brilliant, brilliant book.

Yes, that is about it for now.

Also, Toy Story 3, coming soon!

eliza loves to shop now that she is more mobile. here she is at ikea, helping me out.

we looked around, mostly, and lusted after some ikea kitchens. man, i would kill to do a little work in the house. i love all of the clean lines and simple style at ikea.

so did eliza.

A.L.I.C.E. (Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity) – არის მოლაპარაკე პროგრამა – რომელიც საშუალებას გვაძლევს ვესაუბროთ რობოტს, ნებისმიერ თემაზე, დავუსვათ კითხვები და შესაბამისად მივიღოთ პასუხებიც : )

ეს პროგრამა შეიქმნა 1995 წელს Joseph Weizenbaum ის მიერ : ) და იქიდან მოყოლებული ვითარდება (გვთავაზობებს განახლებულ ვერსიებს) მისი ”წინამორბედი” იყო ELIZA რომელმაც დიდი მოწონება დაიმსახურა : )

დღეს კი მისი ”შთამომავალი” ალისა ბევრი ტიტულისა და პრიზის მფლობელია : ) მათ შორისაა  Loebner Prize

მასთამ გამოლაპარაკებისათვის, საჭიროა შეხვიდეთ მის გვერდზე –

http://alice.pandorabots.com/

მარჯვნივ დაინახავთ ღილაკს სახელით – You say  და  გააბათ ჩათი : D

Commuters along 376 West near the Grant Street exit and the Eliza Furnace Trail, Downtown, make their way home Thursday, November 5, 2009.

Click here for more pictures on my Eliza page.

Eliza Information:

Eliza Patricia Dushku born December 30, 1980) is an American actress who has appeared in several Hollywood movies such as True Lies, The New Guy, Bring It On, Wrong Turn and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. She is also well known for her acting on television, such as her recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel, as well as the main character, Tru Davies, in the short-lived Fox series Tru Calling. She currently produces and stars in the series Dollhouse as Echo, created by Buffy and Angel creator Joss Whedon.

Click on the pictures for larger size.

Click here for more pictures on my Eliza page.

Back in 1966 Joseph Weizenbaum created “ELIZA”, a relatively simple computer program which was meant to simulate a psychotherapist. The program worked largely by rephrasing a patient’s statements as questions which were then posed back to the patient. Many subjects reported preferring ELIZA to their human therapists, and some continued to value ELIZA’s therapy even after Wiezenbaum revealed ELIZA’s workings. (You can read a transcript of ELIZA in action here.)

Things have moved on somewhat since ELIZA’s day. Maja Matarić, a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California, has developed Robots that can provide advice and therapy to patients who have suffered strokes, or who suffer from Alzheimer’s. The Robot can monitor the patient’s movement as they perform a regime of physical therapy, using a combination of laser scanners and cameras, and provide encouragement and advice. But even more impressively, the robot can monitor how introverted or extroverted the patient is, and tailor the tone of their advice giving accordingly. One stroke patient reported much preferring the robot’s advice and encouragement to that of her husband . . .

Similar robots have also been developed as learning aids for autistic children, who seem to prefer the stable repetitive demonstrations and advice that a robot can provide to the subtly varying instructions of a human. But quite apart from the familiar philosophical issues that such increasingly sophisticated robots raise concerning whether a machine can think and feel, these “caring” robots also raise ethical issues. Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT, is concerned by the risk such machines will pose to “the most vulnerable populations—children and elders”. Turkle warns: “The paradox is that you can get more attachment with less, so the more simple robots can pose even greater dangers.”

Interestingly, roboticists like Matarić are now confronting what has become known as the “uncanny valley” effect. This is the problem that as a robot becomes increasingly human-like, empathy and familiarity can turn to unease and disgust – an idea that goes back (at least) to Freud’s 1919 essay “Das Unheimliche” (“The Uncanny”).

You can read about Matarić’s work, and about Turkle’s worries, here.

Related articles: Two Dogmas of Neo-Empiricism By Edouard Machery, University of Pittsburgh (June 2006)
Philosophy Compass

24 octombrie 2009

NEW FACES !

PAULINE

ELIZA

(pictures Jonas Lindströem)

AND NEW POLAROID OF NASTASIA

Born: December 21, 1842

Marriage: William Edens, Hancock County Tennessee

Children:
John
William (Doc)
Ed
Buck
Ida
Henry

Died: May 12, 1903

Buried: Mount Hope Cemetery – Afton, Oklahoma, Edens family plot

John & Mary Frances Edens, possibly wedding day

Born:  December 16, 1861, Hancock County, Tennessee

Father:  William Edens

Mother:  Eliza

Marriage:  Mary Frances Fountain, December 11, 1887, Barry County Missouri

Children:

Maude Edens – b. November 19, 1888

Coleman Cleatus Edens – b. April 27, 1890
William Loach Edens – b. May 28, 1892
Leslie Edens – b. October 29, 1895
Jesse Burton Edens, b. October 9, 1897
Lenora Edens – b. January 26, 1901
Neora Edens – b. January 26, 1901
Johnnie Edens – b. December 22, 1902
Charley Edens – b. October 12, 1905    d. October 12, 1908
Carleton Odell Edens – b. January 20, 1909   d. November 29, 1986

Died:  October 13, 1928 at Wann, Oklahoma

Buried:  Mount Hope Cemetery -  Afton, Oklahoma, Edens family plot

William Edens

Rena, George and William Edens

Born:  March 20, 1841   Hancock County, Tennessee

Father: John Edens

Mother:  Fanny Monk

Marriage:  Eliza

Military:  Confederate States of America, Civil War veteran

Children:
John
William (Doc)
Ed
Buck
Ida
Henry

Died:  April 29, 1925

Buried:  Mount Hope Cemetery -  Afton, Oklahoma, Edens family plot

erik loves to draw and paint. he’s really talented and i hope our kids get some of his artistic talent. last weekend i called home from the hospital and erik told me eliza was painting with him. huh?

i, being the anal one, would absolutely never allow her to even be near a marker at this point, let alone a paint brush chalk full of color. he said she was really enjoying it. later that week, one evening, erik got out some crayons and said eliza liked those too. they started coloring together.

she’s growing up way too fast. the things she does and the looks she gives while doing those things just seem too old.

i want to stunt her in this stage and enjoy it for about a year.

she and wyatt have been really interacting more and more.

i knew i didn’t want kids too close together, but after wyatt had his seizure life sort of stopped during that time. no babies were on my mind for quite a while. when we finally did decide to throw caution to the wind, he was almost 4. i thought it might have been a mistake to wait. now, of course, it seems perfect. wyatt is at school and i get baby time with eliza. as she becomes more aware, her and wyatt’s relationship is growing. i know they might not always be best friends, (read: hate each other during adolescence) but in time (read: adulthood) they will.

i can’t help but think of my own relationship with my brother when i watch them.

example:

she wants everything wyatt has. why can’t she play video games, too?

seems innocent… like…

“but mom, i’m just sitting here and waiting my turn”

“when will wyatt hand the game over?”

then BAM she goes in for what she wants. all the while he just sits there

taking it and knowing that he’s the big brother and big brothers

must get beat on by their sisters when they have something little sis wants.

Am stat 3 zile la Pitesti cat tati si mami au fost plecati cu treaba la Arad. Evidenta ca m-am distrat de minune cu Eliza si Alex.

In weekend am fost la mall-ul din Baneasa. Joaca de 3 ore. Inclusiv fotbal de masa si castigat dinozaur la macaraua mecanica by mamai & tati

Maine avem in program tot mall. La KIDS ON THE MOON.

Iar miercuri facem muraturi la gradinita.

Activitate, nu gluma!

It was a busy week for me, so my Sunday Still is very last minute.  I was up and out early this morning, and when I got home I found this in my bed.  Eliza is very energetic, but when she wakes up she is very cute and cuddly.  When it’s cold out she likes to burrow under my blankets, which is exactly what I caught her doing.  The look on her face describes exactly how I feel when I first wake up.  I think the moment after you wake up is probably the best one of the day!

Plus, how could looking at that pathetic face not make you happy?

Another wonderful morning at Gooseberry, topped by at last capturing (on camera) one of the  many Monarch butterflies we have been seeing as they make their incredible migration to Mexico.  I must say, his royal highness looks prime for the arduous journey!

Monarch - click image for larger view.

Each trip this month would show us one or two or three monarchs – six today – and yet they never seemed to pause and I just never had time to focus on one in flight before it was gone. If you don’t know about the Monarch migration, be sure to visit the interactive, educational site, Journey North – or in this case, Journey South. It will give you background, plus all the latest news on this year’s migration.

Easier to catch are Bren and “the kids,” Higgins and Eliza.

Click image for larger version. (Eastern beach a bit north of the parking lot.)

Of course, Eliza usually figures she in charge and she always want to lead so Higgins doesn’t “use up all the smells before she gets there.”

Click image for larger version.

And Higgins, well, he’s content to take the lead in hugs!

Click image for larger version.

Click image for larger version.

But back to the tourists!

What really caught our eye today was that once more there was a steady stream of tree swallows emerging from the north as if they had been following the curve of East Beach right out the causeway to where we were. You would look in that direction, see nothing, then suddenly, like magic, they would emerge out of the vision of air and sea.

Two of roughly the thousand swallows we saw. (Hint - size is revealed by the seagull feet at the top of the image.) Click image for larger version.

When you looked inland, over the pampas grass, you were left in awe by a constantly shifting aerial ballet.

Click image for larger version.

Click image for larger version.

Click image for larger version.

Oh – and that picture includes a tiny interloper among the swallows!

The Monarch is in the center of this shot - and, of course, much closer than the whirling cloud of swallows. Click image for larger version.

Almost forgot – when trying to “catch” a monarch I caught some movement in the brush near the beach and this handsome Song Sparrow emerged to entertain!

Click image for larger version.

And if you look real closely at that last aerial shot you’ll see another fall migrant – our monarch friend!

So after a sad morning, when I was late for my first class and I didn’t get full credit on my matlab and math hw, cognitive science today turned up something cool. I’m pretty sure I came across this earlier but it does give you a good laugh to take your mind off of the tough day. If you’re really looking for help from this computer psychologist, it could make your situation worse. Haha.

So try Eliza, the computer psychologist, for yourself here. It doesn’t hold any memory so each of its responses is based only on your most recent response. As I try to show here, she ends up deflecting, since as a Rogerian pyschotherapist, the object is to get the patient to figure out his own problems so she mainly asks questions. My responses are indicated by the line with the asterisk.

Chat with Eliza

Conclusion: Eliza does not have semantics and does not perform cognition.

Can someone explain to me the difference?

Do you like Bethany or Eliza as stand alone names?

What is your fav nn of Elisabeth? Beth, Liz, Lizzie, Betsy, Lisa, Betty, Elsie, Elsa or other?

eliza was sick over the weekend. she had a high fever that we were having trouble breaking, even with motrin and tylenol.

all of this swine flu frenzy has me paranoid. i usually wouldn’t call the pediatrician for just a fever, but i did on saturday. i left work on my lunch break and met erik there.

the nurse practitioner saw her and said everything looked okay, but she had a red throat. probably just a virus, she said.

i ended up on call on sunday and got to stay at home. yea! for being on call. i wanted to just nest and take care of eliza. she followed me around most of the day and whined a good bit. by the evening, she was fever free.

today, wyatt was off school. we slept in until about 8. i laid eliza down for an early nap at 10. when she woke up she had a rash on the side of her face. uh-oh.

i took wyatt to get a haircut and out to lunch. eliza’s rash slowly moved all over her face and down to her tummy at doolittle’s. double uh-oh.

i know this rash… it’s roseola. it is a virus. wyatt had it back when he was 2, and now sissy does. thankfully, she feels much better now. she looks like a leper, but feels like a rock star.

we went here for lunch and it was delicious! eliza still charmed the wait staff, even looking like a leper.

wyatt ate and wanted to take some pictures with my phone, so i let him explore and do what he wanted.

he is already a talented photog, even at 5 years old. check out these:

isn’t he talented?

i think so, too.

you are discovering more and more every day. you blow kisses goodbye to daddy and wyatt as they leave in the morning, waving to yourself as they walk out.

as daddy drinks his coffee you point with your little chubby fingers and say, “hot” as clear as any 15 month old i know.

you are vocal and you want everyone to hear you. you scream when someone takes what you think you need. it’s not a normal scream. it’s a piercing scream. yesterday i took something you shouldn’t have away from you and you screamed in protest and then tried to bite me on the shoulder. you cut your eyes at me right before you bit and stopped yourself. bad girl, but smart girl.

what e dat, dat? dat? constantly.

meow! and then smiles when you see max or taj.

what do puppy dogs say eliza? “wuh, wuh” grin.

mamamamammaaaaa… all.the.time. i love it.

eye-yat. when he gets in the car from school. you are so happy to see your bubbas.

when mommy or daddy puts wyatt to bed, you try to sneak in his room. you squeal with excitement that you busted in his room and can disrupt the nighttime routine.

you can walk, but choose to still scooter around on your left thigh. you look like the cutest baboon we’ve ever seen. take your time walking. we are in no rush.

you are petite, but feisty. nobody is going to ever pull a fast one on you.

you love playing with your books and toys, baby dolls included. “uhh baby”. you also love transformers, cars, blocks, and legos.

every time you see a ball you point and say, “baw”

you dance wildly to all music that is hip-hop and really anything with a good beat, preferably bass. you will be a booty-shaker.

you still say “aw-hum”, but you are more picky about when you use the phrase.

you are a mess when you eat. no matter what the food is, it ends up on the floor and in your hair.

playing on the bed before we tuck you in is your, and our, favorite nighttime ritual. you wrestle with wyatt and walk and fall down, head first. you show no fear.

daddy “roaaarrs” at you and pretends he’s a scary bear and you promptly “roarrrr” back.

you give kisses ni-night to everyone and we head to your room.

we love you to pieces baby doll.