Intelligent Android Sophia Wants a Family

Sophia, the famous android who was granted citizenship by a country, has revealed in an interview that she dreams of having a family. Sophia is currently one of the most advanced robots in existence, equipped with an artificial intelligence system. Although the technology within her is still in its early stages, Sophia can understand what is important to human beings, recognize emotions and reactions, and learn more about the people she interacts with over time. While Sophia isn’t as advanced as the robots we see in science fiction stories, she represents the beginning of a new era. 

The new era is one in which robots may live alongside humans, and even the possibility of integrating human consciousness into robotic bodies becomes real. Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, and only now are we starting to understand its true potential, how to optimize it, and how to make it work for us. However, many voices warn that the rapid development of AI could mark the end of the human era. Even Stephen Hawking once said that if we continue to push the boundaries of AI and improve its abilities, we may eventually reach a point where it realizes that humans are no longer necessary—potentially leading to the extinction of our species.

Weather Forecast and Birds

We've been having some dry weather since Christmas, and that's unusual. This is the time of year somebody in the sky turns on the sprinkler system and forgets to turn it off. Rain mixed with snow is forecast for most of the week. This morning I thought about what happens when we have this kind of forecast. Immediately Bob says "I've got to get gas for the car". Why? Knowing him, the tank is at least half full. Besides that, where are we going? These are the kind of days people like us need to stay inside. While he was out getting gas he was going to go by the grocery store and pick up some things we might need, and lay in a supply of chili from Wendy's. At 7:30 am it was still dark outside. Now it is very gray and overcast. This adds to the angst. I don't expect to get much snow but I do expect it to rain most of this week, the rest of the month, as well as February, March, April, May, and part of June. It's this kind of weather that makes me long to feed the birds. I can't imagine a bird starving here but I want to feed them for my enjoyment on winter days. I've never been able to come up with a solution. There just isn't a good place to put up a feeder here, but yesterday I came up with something I hope will work. I never tire of the moss that grows here. You can see the edge of the patio that was a lot greener before I swept it. Off the patio is some pretty little moss. Makes me smile. I put out a flag to let the birds know I was open for business.

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Lisa it is so exciting to meet you. I'm on a mission to find good in the Republican Party and I think I've found a winner. I can only wish the Republican Party had more of your kind. I can't say that I've been watching you which probably means you've been doing the work of the Senate rather than chasing TV cameras. How refreshing. I also have to admit I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about Alaska since your former governor, Sarah Palin, showed up in the political mix. I couldn't take too much of her. Between Sarah and former Senator Ted Stevens I'd had about all the Alaskans I could stomach. Your story in Alaskan politics is quite unique. It seems you were appointed to the Senate in 2002 by your father, then governor Frank Murkowski. In the chaos and havoc of the 2010 mid-term elections it looked like you might lose your seat. Republican right wingers were on the loose and causing all the trouble they could find. When you were defeated in the primary by tea party endorsed Joe Miller it looked like good Republicans had lost another seat to the right wing of their party.

Never underestimate a woman. Right wing Republicans haven't had a lot of experience with such women so they dusted their hands and considered the job done. Wrong. You out foxed them by running as a write-in candidate and won the election! Yours was the first write-in win since Strom Thurmond ran and won as a write-in candidate in 1954. Big congratulations to you. How does it feel being the only currently serving Republican Senator from any of the west coast states? Moderate Republicans are more scarce than hen's teeth these days. Obviously you were a perfect candidate to be challenged in the primaries by a tea party endorsed candidate. You showed them a thing or two. I am excited you are in the Senate. You are a good Republican.  I wish you well for whatever time you represent the state of Alaska. Alaskans should be proud of sending you to Washington.

I Have a New Hobby

Was on vacation last week, hanging out with the kids in the mountains, learning new things and just relaxing. While out there, I discovered something that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was introduced to Archery. I had always wanted to give it a try and once I did, I am now hooked. I got my very own compound bow with a case and all the paraphernalia. After 2 days of practicing at the outdoor range last week, I discovered shoulder muscles I didn’t know I had. After practice number 5 this week at an indoor range here in my city, those muscles are super sore now. Left bicep is sore from holding bow, right shoulder is sore from drawing the bow. Going to have to exercise my right bicep and left shoulder with weights to balance things out. Dis is me during my very first time with my new bow (yes it is little) but I have short arms. Had to get a guard for my left forearm as once you hit it with the bow strings, you will want to do everything in your power to avoid doing it again, it smarts big time. I’ve since learned to hold it right to avoid doing that in the first place. I have a bunch more "stuff" on the bow now so it is heavier (as of yesterday) and this weekend I configured some targets at our place so we now have our own outdoor range. I’ve got to start all over again with setting up my bow but I can see lots of practice in my future. I like it!

Is it Really the Dog?

Sometimes I really wonder is the dog a bad dog or is the person a bad dog owner or was it just a bad match? As with any rescue organization or shelter you get returns. Sometimes people change their minds on the idea of having a dog. Sometimes life gets in the way and there is nothing that can be done but to re home the dog... loss of job, illness, child not expected... etc. I do feel sometimes people give up too quickly though. I mean have you truly tried to make it work or do you think it will eliminate some of your stress if the dog was just gone so bye bye doggie? Sometimes I think rescue "hurts" themselves in the fact that we take our dogs back no matter what... well at least I do and most reputable rescues / shelters do. People always have an out. Granted you don't get your money back but still it is no risk to the adopter... if I have a bad day or an issue with the dog I am too lazy to work on fixing I can just call the rescue and eliminate the problem. But there are way too many people out there who will just dump a dog on the side of the road like trash or take it to the kill shelter or God only knows do whatever with the dog. 

By rescues and shelters agreeing to take the dog back is truly the best thing for the dog but at the same time it is making people lazy. Lazy because they don't have to work it out. They don't have to figure out how to find the dog a new home. They just dump back on the rescue. I sometimes wonder if it were harder to return a dog if they would make it work? I guess in a way I have answered this questions a few times with adopters... In my adoption contract it states if you want to return a dog you have to give me 5 days notice and I can only take the dog when I have room so you may have to wait a few days. A number of times I have received the call of "I need to return the dog" after I talk to the people and find out exactly what has been going on and it is totally correctable I say to them well I can't take the dog back until X day and in the mean time you have to do the following. Then when I call them to say Ok X day has arrived , they say "Oh well what you told us is working and the dog is much better and we ware keeping him/her. Can't stand to let him/her go". Oh really! So, honestly you just had a bad day and were stressed out and thought giving up the dog would eliminate that stress. Ok got ya!

I am America

Greetings. I am you. I am America. I live in a ditched truck-trailer parked next to my parents’ mobile home in a rural area. I am unemployed and receiving no benefits, without health insurance or savings, recently divorced of spouse and house, carless, chronically/clinically depressed and on medication, and generally wishing I had two ends to make meet. I have a funny feeling there’s a lot of us. This is an economically depressed area with little in the way of jobs, where empty storefronts and abandoned buildings pepper a landscape of cheaply built prefab housing, bunker-like taverns, and hollow-eyed men with their hoody-hoods pulled up, clutching plastic bags full of tallboys. The only business that seems to thrive in this area is antique shops, perhaps because there’s a growth industry here of estate sales hocking the sad belongings of retirees who’ve committed suicide. I’m remembering what it feels like to be set upon, whether it’s a delusion or not. I hate this disease. Anyway, one of the great things about being anonymous is not having to have people up in your business. Even though having people up in your business is what you actually secretly long for. What am I trying to say? I’m trying to say that sometimes I want to say “it’s not fucking worth it and I wish I had never been born” and not have a bunch of people, like, hovering and shit. Or to hover if they like but to keep fucking quiet about it. Which is what I dearly love about those of you who used to read this blog back when I actually wrote in it on a regular basis, rather than seeing it as one of a long list of things in my life I couldn’t sustain. So the short version is, I’m back. Hooray.

Irish Girls About Town

Author, various female Irish authors (Maeve Binchy, Cathy Kelly, Marian Keyes). From Goodreads, New York Times bestselling authors Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes top an impressive roster of the Emerald Isle's most popular women writers and prove that when it comes to spinning a good yarn, the Irish are the best in the business. Showcasing dazzling wit and remarkable insight in short stories that run the gamut from provocative to poignant, these Irish women will tug at your heartstrings and have you crying with laughter in no time. In Maeve Binchy's "Carissima," a longtime ex-pat and free spirit returns to Ireland from Sicily and shakes things up for her family, who finds her life utterly scandalous. In "Soulmates," by Marian Keyes, one woman's relationship is so bleedin' perfect in every way that it's driving her friends up the wall. In Cathy Kelly's "Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods," two women on a madcap, Stateside road trip have completely opposite reactions to a pair of insanely good-looking men. 

In these stories, and throughout this fabulous collection, Ireland's finest women authors celebrate the joys and perils of love, the adventure and constancy of female friendships, and their own irresistible brand of Irish charm. This anthology of sorts is written by female Irish authors. It is a perfect read while getting sun-kissed on the beach or for a lazy afternoon nap. So far, I found most of the stories simple, cute and a little entertaining. Well, there are some stories I liked quite a bit like De-Stress, The Twenty-Eighth Day, Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods, Carissima, and Girls' Weekend. The rest were either so-so or the main characters were hard to root for. However, I think I just don't really enjoy short stories as much as I do a novel with 250 pages or more. You don't have enough time to really connect with the characters and place yourself in their situations. I found myself yearning for more and then boom! I'd tell myself, "What? That's it?" and then I'm left with a feeling that the stories weren't really okay at all. So far, I'd rate this book, two bookmarks for entertainment purposes.

Tuesday Teaser

Welcome to the first Tuesday of April. Another day for our Teaser Tuesdays. This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To participate you: grab your current read, open to a random page, share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! For this week, actually I'm reading an anthology book. It's a collection of short stories authored by some of famous Irish novelists - Maeve Binchy, Marian Keyes & Cathy Kelly, et al. The book is called "Irish Girls About Town". Here's a teaser from one of the short stories: There was a note on the door. Waited until half past. Understand that you mightn't have wanted to see me. If you were mine, I wouldn't want to let you our of my sight. 

Musing Mondays

Today's Monday musing from Miz B of Should Be Reading, where she will ask a book / reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic: What are you most excited about reading, right now? Can be a book you’re currently enjoying, or a book that’s yet to be published, etc. Actually, I'm excited with a lot of recently published book (sequels). So I'm making October my Sequel Month. Here are some of the books I'm excited to read in the next few days. Vanish (sequel to Firelight). To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone. 

Uncommon Criminals, sequel to Heist Society. Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. She's no Disney Princess. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply... the emerald is cursed. 

Presley Quinn, Tragic Love

My feet start to move wery quickly as I travel down through the old buildings toward the saloon. In a few short minutes, I make my way to the parking lot where I need to stop to catch my breath. The heat is sucking all the air from my lungs along with my guilt for what I’ve done. When I pull open the door I can hear Darcie screaming at Drake at the same time that Reggie is restraining his arms, pinning them behind his back. His eyes meet mine and they break all over again. I have to save him. I can’t bring him down with all the ugliness growing inside of me. I slowly walk through the bar and keep my eyes solely on his. Darcie is turning her anger to me, but I shut it down because only Drake matters in this particullar moment. No one else. I reach into my pocket and pull the small white pill from its depths. Placing it in the palm of my hand, I show him exactly what it is and his bloodshot, drunken eyes meet mine, slowly. Reggie releases his hold on Drake, allowing him to lower his arms to his sides.

“What’s that?” he asks with a slurred tongue as he shrugs his shoulders, loosening them from the tension inflicted by Reggie. “I didn’t do it. I was waiting for something good to stop me, and then... there you were. You are more important to me than my own life and I can’t hurt you by doing this,” I whisper as I pick up the pill and place it in his sweaty hand. His eyes focus slowly on the pill. He turns it over with his fingers in his hand, the confusion apparent as he studies the small white tablet. He can’t even look at me and I don’t blame him. I’ve ruined any trust he’s had in me and I deserve it. I’ve only been hiding from reality for a long time. Drake tips his hand to the side, allowing the pill to drop to the floor. As it hits the ground, Drake lifts his booted foot then slams it onto the tile. He twists his heel, grinding the pill into a fine white powder. He slowly lifts his head and looks over to Reggie. “So now you know,” he says then he pushes past me, brushing his arm against mine as he walks out on all of us.

Merry Christmas!

Sorry so Busy

I have been overwhelmed busy between dogs and my friend's baby girl in the hospital. She had brain surgery on thursday and seems to be doing better now. Yesterday she was able to hold her head up and last night she had her first real meal since the accident. Poor thing. I have had a few dogs adopted in the last week which is good but I still have two puppies left. Can't believe it. I guess I need to send out a Grapevine message and see if I can get them placed. I would really like to see them in homes by the weekend. I really wish I had time to do an adoption event but I am overwhelmed with stuff to do until 31'th of december. Between work and Madde and the benefit fundraiser I am barely holding it all together, I am running on fumes. I have open foster homes and no dogs to give them, partly because the ones I have at my house are high energy and won't work in the foster homes I have... There are about 4 dogs at the local pound I want to get, so tempting... maybe I will do that today after work, which means I need to bust my ass to get a bunch of stuff done so I can get the heck out of here early!

Guilty People get so Angry - Part 2

Clearly you tie dogs up outside unattended. Ok, so that is a no on being approved. Come on people, really? You really think that a legitimate rescue is going to think it is ok to take a dog and tie it up on a chain outside and never talk to it again. If you want something that is more self sufficient and doesn't need as much attention get a cat! Why do people think it is ok to tie a puppy to a puppy house? Why? I don't understand the purpose of having a dog if you just tie it up and walk away. Dogs are socials animals they can not be left alone for days at a time they will become aggressive. Dogs are pack animals and need a pack (for example a family). It makes me crazy. I honestly would rather see a dog dumped on the side of the road to run free to taken to a local kill shelter then put on the end of a chain and left there. I would rather humanely euthanize a dog then see it suffer on a chain. I think there is nothing more cruel then putting a dog on a chain. The dog suffers every day for its entire life. That is horrible.

Guilty People get so Angry

In the last few days I have encountered some pretty interesting situations with people. For example my rescue friend received an application and something just didn't sit right with her. She forwarded it to me and said "what do you think about this" I read over the application and you could almost tell the person was trying to "hide" something. She talked about having a kennel run, a puppy house with a tie out but said "it is only used for potty breaks" Hmm why do you need a puppy house for potty breaks? The thing is about applications sometimes you have to read between the lines. There were a few other things on the application as well that just smelled fishy but I won't bore you with those details. Anyway, I told her that I thought the application read like people who have been turned down before and that she should call them and see what they say. Ask them questions like "why do you have a puppy house?" and see if they will give you a neighbor as a reference. That way you can ask the neighbor "was their last puppy tied up outside a lot?". So my rescue friend called them and just talked to them about the daily routine and what activities they planned with the puppy, etc. The people live on farm so lots to do for a puppy. She then asked the applicant, what is the puppy house used for? The women went off she got a huge attitude and starting saying how they take excellent care of their animals. Never really stating what the puppy house was for just immediately getting mad when asked the question.

Last Week

Last week was out of control. I barely slept. Seriously! I had a total of 15 hours of sleep in 3 nights. The fund raiser did go really well and we raised a lot of money so hopefully that helps my BBF not stress out since Madde's care is going to cost so much. Not to mention the girl is spending crazy mad money on gas driving to and from the hospital. The dog rescue is going ok. Took in 5 dogs in a week but had a few adopted. I still have dogs that I never thought I would have this long, including a 3 month old GSD puppy. All his siblings were adopted but he is left behind; I know it is because he isn't black and tan but all black. He is a good puppy but definitely needs a family of his own soon! I still have Luke who is now a 6 months old, how the heck I still have that dog is beyond me, he is so good. And cute!

Some of the foster homes are on a break which is good for them, they need to do that so they don't get burned out but stinks for me or really the dogs b/c I can't take in any new ones, I am totally full with 18 dogs at my house. Oh Mr. Crazy has been so quiet since I put up the security cameras. He doesn't come outside and antagonize the dogs. It is so nice to not have to worry about "what he might do next" because well I have him on video tape should he do something and I have proof that I am not doing anything. Because you know you are actually guilty until you prove yourself innocent. And the photo album lady is at it again. She is appealing the judges decision that she isn't owed any money. So, I guess that battle continues. And the people that stole the dog are still harassing me. I really wish people would just go on with their lives.

The Tension of Opposites

The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride mini book review. It's been two years since Noelle has disappeared. Since her bike was found, sprawled on a sidewalk. Years of silence, worry and fear. For those two years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her life in a state of suspended animation. How can she allow herself to enjoy a normal life if Noelle can't? How dare she have other friends without knowing what happened to the girl she would share everything with? And then one day, someone calls Noelle's house. She's alive! The cover and the title really drew me to the book. The cover is dark and mysterious (oooh). And the title name is just so great. Well, I watched the book trailer and I wasn't too floored, not at all floored to be exact. But I forgot about the trailer, and this book just became another "Oh, everyone says this is so good, I have to check it out". So when I got it from the library and read the summary I had a feeling I wouldn't get into the book. I read about seven chapters and quit, my reason is that there was a lack of suspense and a lack of poignancy. The chapters I read were an anticlimactic build-up to what seemed to me to be nothing of importance. An attempt at romance was taken, and basically that was all the first few chapters were about, our heroine falling in love (or something). I decided to quit after Tessa was pondering what her crush's tongue tasted like. Mmm, okay. Nothing was happening of interest, and I really wasn't willing to read more. I tried to get into it and failed. With so many people reading and loving this book I won't dissuade anyone from at least trying this out. Go ahead, check her (I decided the book is a female...) out.

A Frugal Guide to The South Beach Diet

Carbs are cheap. You can get a loaf of bread for $1.00. Meat is much more than that per pound and prices seem to just go up. Here are some great ways to save money and stay on your south beach diet phases. Don’t eat out. This is an important thing to think about when considering how to save money. Restaurant food is mark-up so much that you can easily spend the entire grocery budget for a week for a family of four during a night out for those same four people. Home cooked food is more nutritious, better tasting and creates great family memories. Let’s talk about how you can save money when purchasing that food that you are going to make at home. The best way to save money on meat is to buy in bulk and buy a lot during really good sales. Since I always seem to miss the really good sales, so I usually stick to buying the bulk packages. I am talking about the bulk packaging that is available at your local grocery store not the Club stores. They always have portions that are way to big for what I can store. If you have memberships in these stores and can store the food, by all means, get your meats from there. For the rest of us, buy the bulk chicken, beef and pork at your grocery store. To make sure that you don’t waste any of it separate the meat when you get home. I usually cook most of the meat in different ways and put a smaller portion in the freezer. 

For example, if I buy bulk chicken I cook some in the oven for a oven fried or bar-b-que chicken. At the same time I will also boil some of the chicken to use as a chicken salad or similar recipe. I will also throw a third of the raw chicken in the freezer to use when I need to make a chicken recipe. I will also freeze some of the cooked chicken if I don’t think I will use it in a day or two. This way I have prepared food in the refrigerator, prepared food in the freezer and raw food in the freezer in case company comes over. Use coupons. It is possible to get your entire grocery cart for free if you use double, triple and manufacturers coupons. I have seen others do it and I have come close myself. It might not be possible to get the entire bill down to zero when you are on the south beach diet because many times you have to buy some packaged food. Usually packaged food falls into the category of carbs. You can save a lot of money if you clip coupons. It doesn’t take any time if you do it while you are sitting in front of the TV. Buy your produce seasonally and locally. Vegetables are also expensive these days but you can save by purchasing the produce that is in season. You can usually get some great skills. South beach diet phase two & three dieters can practice on their baking skills by making fruit dishes with sugar substitutes that are ok for the south beach diet. Local produce also will cost less especially if you go to the local farmers markets. I find gorgeous produce at my local flea market and the prices are unbeatable. 

Depressing

The month of December has been a very good month for adoptions. We seems to have adopted out a lot of dogs and things are going pretty well for the rescue. But man oh man is it a depressing world when you look at the shelters. Yesterday I went to Richland County Ohio shelter listing on Petfinder. They have 90 dogs! I have been to that shelter, they do not have room for 90 dogs. I was talking to the women that works there last night via email and she said in July they put to sleep 16 dogs in one day. 16! I know that there are just too many dogs and not all of them can be saved but that is a lot of dogs for one shelter to put down in one day. That is just depressing. Dog rescue and really cat rescue is worse, I think is such a pointless war. I mean you aren't ever really going to end or change anything. For every one dog you save some asshole just created an entire litter more and nothing changes it only seems to get worse. I feel like a crazy person... fighting a battle that I will never ever win nor will I ever put a dent in it. And the sick thing is I hear stories from people all the time about how their dog had puppies, how their co-worker is buying a dog, how this person or that person has a dog that isn't fixed. It just isn't going to end, is it? Nothing will ever change will it? The suffering, the killing, the abuse will continue forever...

$4M in Cocaine Found in Bean Cans

The Canada Border Services Agency, in Halifax, says its officers seized 32 kilograms of cocaine, after finding the drugs hidden in a shipment of beans, from Cartagena, Colombia. Two men from the Montreal area face charges. Border officials say they found the drugs in 122 cans, with false bottoms, during a routine container search on 01 Oct. Dominic Mallette, the agency's chief of operations in Nova Scotia, said, according to News Bite press release, though Colombia is known for drug exporting, it wasn't the reason for the search. "We do, often, target for those countries, but in this case, we were not, necessarily, targeting for the fact it was coming from there," Mallette said. "It just happened to be a good, random examination". 

He said thanks to state-of-the-art equipment, officials were able to see the contents of some of the cans were more dense than they should've been, had they been carrying beans alone. "They put in the cocaine in there, put a false bottom to close it, then added sand". The cans were in a shipment destined for a legitimate food importer in Saint-Jerome, Quebec. Border officials called RCMP, and an investigation was launched. Federal officials estimate the drugs are worth $4 million, on the street, which Mallette said is about average for the size of seizures the Port of Halifax sees. He estimated the seizures happen four to five times a year. "I wish it was every day, but it's not," he said. The names of the men charged have not been released.

Mr. Robert Barron, Esq.

This is another example of my weird / eccentric, possibly mental illness-spawned sense of humor. One of the hallmarks of my sense of humor is the creation of characters. Like a television sketch comedy show, i have recurring characters that i bring up for certain situations, turns of conversation, political debates, etc. Whenever some discussion arises regarding a seemingly obvious solution to an endemic problem, say for instance single payer healthcare, i tend to trot out this character called Mr. Robert Barron, esq. He’s a fat and balding 19th century Robber Baron (hence the name) dressed in a 3 piece worsted wool suit with a gold pocket chain watch and a monacle, who at the mention of absolutely any form of government intervention in remedy of a social ill, pipes up in a stentorian, patrician baritone: “but... that would be so-see-all-izzum!“ Inevitably when Mr. Robert Barron, esq. speaks out, there are one of three reactions: (1) nervous laughter, (2) sighs of resignation, or (3) enthusiastic nodding. I wonder if any of you have recurring characters, like billy crystal’s “paprikosh” man in “when harry met sally”, or Jerry Seinfeld’s obnoxious “hel-looo!” guy. I have several of these characters that i allow to express themselves from time to time. this may in fact be a coping mechanism of some sort, but i doubt that it is a sign of real mpd because they do not “take over” my consciousness, leaving me with periods of blackout. As far as i know.