Pong

What was your first ever videogame?

I am assuming of private ownership. It had three other games on it too, but it was virtually all pong. One paddle on each side and totally black & white. The kids had a blast with it, even this kid. 

Later, we had a car racing thing that the kids flat wore out the controls on. Every time my wife played, she ended up in a lake. We knew it was a lake cause this one was in color. 

Just remembered we had six or seven other games on cartridges. How, can’t remember anything but the car racing thing. There were usually five or six kids crammed into that room carrying on, yelling and laughing hours at a time. 

Wish I could have bought more controls for it.

Think I’ll keep it

Bought a MS based laptop, about 900 plus tax. I got tired of waiting and doing nothing. There is a bunch that really frustrates me. However, surprisingly, it does have a thing or three that I have found very redeaming.

Right on the front end, I found it extremely difficult to set up mail accounts. I suspect this might be because I didn’t wait until all the updates were done. If so. Someone should have told me before I spun my wheels for I don’t know how many hours. It’s still got proble!s but, I don’t plan on it being my primary computer. I have a Mac, which does have a substantial learning curve, but not like MS.

To make things worse, in he name of making things easy, they had taken control of the system I purchased. My first three computers I had, I reformatted the hard drive once a month. The important thing was o had confidence I could do it. I can’t do that on the new systems, mainly because it would take at least a month to do it if I knew how.

The idea of reformatting regularly is that it made hardware upgrades easier and faster. Whether it be a larger disk or a completely new system, I could reload the disk in a couple hours, if that. It seems they are going well out of their way to keep me from doing that these days.

Another thing, I wanted to add a directory to my new system and spent over an hour at it. Guess what, no directories on the new machines. They are called folders.

As a former computer field engineer, I learned something basic and important. Never, never, never store programs and data on the same disk. Copying data from one disk to backup equipment is generally fast and simple. Moreover, it takes a lot less hardware to do it. A smart data processing pro does it daily. Some businesses are required to by law. If your data is only a third of what is on that hard drive, your wasting hours copying stuff that never changes. In fact you are using three times the time and material as you need.

My new computer, for my daily backup, I’ll not use a minute to perform my backup. The static stuff on the drive, that which changes very little, remains on the main drive. The files that are dynamically changing minute by minute goes on another drive, one that can be totally copied in seconds. If something happens to the computer, I simply take my most recent copy of data, move it over to another computer and I am conceivably up an running in minutes, Maybe seconds.

To be sure, there is a lot that goes into remaining immune to disasters, but it all starts by keeping your static and your dynamic files physically separate or at least logically. Putting data on a separate logical file isn’t ideal, but it is better than putting all in one huge bucket, so to speak.

Nonetheless, they have done some very wonderful things with AI and MS Word; perhaps with the rest of it too. For that one reason, I’ll put up with the rest in light of what time and efforts they are saving me with AI. It works three ways that save me all the hours I waste on the other stuff. I will grant you, it is a type of cheating but it does produce a cleaner document is far less time.

However, it does not stop there. Sometimes t catch myself laughing out loud when I see things I overlook when I thought I had all the angles covered. I think to myself, why didn’t I consider that. As far as I am concerned, bettering the quality of communication is not a bad thing, regardless that the aid comes from a bunch of ones and zeros or not. Perhaps it is a political speech you are drawing up, some business proposal, or maybe even a legal brief. Sometimes the choice of of word might make the difference of success or failure.

Finally, do you really want to be the one explaining to you spelled manager without the second a? I would suggest that would be the savings of one red face, even if you still made the deal. I am sure my writing would be far more persuasive if I stopped using there instead of their. I mean, even I think that is dumb. Still, sometimes I do it and proof read it and still miss it. I mean IA are is perfectly suited four folks just like me.

Wish I Knew

What do you think is the future of AI?


Honestly, I suspect nobody truly knows—certainly not the so-called experts. When I hear someone introduced as an expert, my skepticism kicks in immediately. The most useful definition I’ve encountered came from junior college: “Someone who knows a whole lot about very little.”


Consider this: generalists, not narrow specialists, are most capable of predicting AI’s trajectory. So many variables influence the outcome in so many different ways that you’d need someone with broad, interdisciplinary knowledge to make an informed prediction.


However, that’s not enough. Self-centered people will exploit AI for selfish purposes. Given the chance, people will use it for harmful reasons. The key is identifying those bad actors while someone can still stop them.


I believe the trick very simply is to spot those who will make a big deal out of it being something for the good of mankind. My own personal experience tells me so. I have seen broad pictures of all the good that computers will do for mankind, and I see the broad selfish uses that they are used for. The people they really help are the management—those who use and abuse the power the computers provide them. While it is nice to have a UNIVAC in my pocket in the form of a phone, it is those who have the power that can abuse it. And most of us quickly and willingly accept it.


I believe it will be the way of artificial intelligence. The bottom line trick is to remember to keep AI our servant, not our master. My fear is that it will be accepted as a servant while all the time becoming the master.

That wasn’t expected

I went shopping early this morning. One thing on the list was eggs. The price was actually pretty good. I started to get the large ones as usual; then noticed the extra large were but a few cents more. Then I saw the jumbo, which were very likely worth the little bit more.

I am glad I backed off. The extra large didn’t fit in tray designed to hold the eggs. I didn’t expect that.

Nonetheless, I still managed. Had I got the jumbo eggs, I would have had to put them in a bowl, the one I don’t have. As I think back over it, I likely would have come up with other problems.

The last two I was not able to get them to fit. I don’t know. Maybe a couple of jumbo eggs made it into the extra large. So I did the only thing I could. I ate them of course. And they were pretty good. They actually turned out perfect in appearance and taste.

Thing is, when I arrived to the check out area, they didn’t have so much as one person checking people out. Didn’t much care for that. I’m 78, with a month of my birthday. Then I looked closer and realized that Wal-Mart decided to close the registers with the larger tables. That meant they expected this 78, almost 79 year-old to check out 250 dollars of groceries using two 2 by 2 foot tables, no help whatsoever of course. This while I saw employees standing around conversing with each other.

When they came out with bar codes, I sort of expected the self d check out registers. No more help loading cars, I sort of expected. The “I don’t care attitude” they had while they stood around while I struggled with the groceries… That wasn’t expected.

By the way, I also had to beg to get someone to help when the eggs wouldn’t scan. Where will it end. Or maybe the more appropriate question, when will they cease coming up with the unexpected.

Not Sure of the Meaning of the Prompt

Which book’s world would be the worst to live in?

I wasn’t sure what the prompt was asking, so my first thought went to Silas Marner. Then another idea hit me: what about a world where temperatures keep rising and scattered groups of survivors struggle to cope with the heat and each other? That book exists. I wrote it. I called it The Survivors, and honestly, it’s a strange, frightening place where people do disturbing, almost unimaginable things just to stay alive.

Yes, it is available by Amazon Kindle books.

The Simpler it is….

The reason Tennessee State sent a committee in to oversee the Shelby County education systems is that it the worst one in the state, likely one of the worst in the country. As a side note, it is the sort of thing that happens when the Democrats are put in charge of things. And wouldn’t you know it, Shelby County is fighting it it with all they have. And, guess what, the local news media is doing all they can to help the county in their efforts.

It really is simple. They all should be pulling for the best education for the students. To me, it would seem it is their jobs and reputations they are fighting for. It would seem they will intentionally stand in the way of good education for their own purposes. Moreover, it would seem poor educations is the bigger part of their purpose.

The pattern seems about the same with law enforcement. I would spell it out but I don’t see the need. The simplest fact is, when the lock up the criminals, there is less crime. And since they brought the National Guard in, there are more criminals in the jails.

Now, if they would get it in gear and build another jail. We did it a few years ago in Desoto County and we don’t have nearly the tax resources as Shelby County.

In Case You’d Like a Reminder

Don’t really know why, the thought occurred to me ! didn’t know the requirements for senators and representatives, other than their age. So I looked them up. You will be glad to know that both must be US citizens. However, unlike the president, they may be born outside the US. Isn’t that nice. Senator must be a citizen nine years, representatives 7 years. As for me they will not get my vote unless they were born here, and I don’t mean an anchor baby either. And as for President, I would prefer mine to be second generation. And four years active service.

And, oh yes, none of them should have any foreign entanglements with any other nations. I suspect they would have written it that way if they really thought it through.

One would think it would be a sound idea to change the requirements accordingly, but that would require an amendment. The Supreme Court already ruled on that. Change cannot be made by states or Congress. Also, that goes for term limits and memory capacity. Yeah, it sort of appears we are stuck with current rules. I don’t see much hope for a change in the law, let alone an amendment.

If we should get one through I think we should also disallow lawyers from even entering the Capitol Building.

An Section Please

Those that have read my posts know mostly how I feel about illegal immigration. For those few that don’t, let me summarise. All people here illegally should be deported as soon as possible, if not sooner.

While I do believe the above, I am willing to that we should revise their stay to legal if:

  1. Renounce their former citizenship and agree to proclaim their allegiance to the US and only the US.
  2. Agree to follow American laws to the best of their abilities.
  3. That they are able to earn their own livelihood or someone will provide full support for them.
  4. That they know how to speak, read and write English or will know how at a third grade level in six months; and at a sixth grade level within a year.
  5. If it is for the convenience of the USA for one of the following: as a witness, particularly one involving a serious felony such as murder, rape or grand theft, by going into and completing at least 4 years of service, especially in a combat zone, determined by an appropriate agent that it is convenient for us to keep the alien. Example, the rocket scientists we brought from Germany at the end of WW II.

The above would still be subject to evaluation and determination by appropriate US agents. Moreover, if it is determined that the exception was granted because of fraud, the person would still be subject to immediate deportation. Also, if at any time it is determined that any of the above was not followed, they would be deported without notice.

Maybe We Need Better Screening?

Pulled up my computer screen and saw the headline “Selma Blair arrested for allegedly trying to open airplane door and biting flight attendant.”

My first thought was to look more closely at the article. Then I thought better of it. First plane I rode was a 727 out of L.A. There were no inspections. I walked straight back to the gate, presented my ticket and received a boarding pass. A while later, I got on the plane. A few hours later, I got off. That was it.

I have had reason to fly from time to time since and each time it was worse. The planes improved, but the security was successively worse. Or, should I say tighter. Yet people like this get on the plane. Biting attendants? Do I ever want to get on a plane where passengers are apt to try to take a bite from anyone? Certainly I would not want to risk sitting next to one. He or she might succeed.

They still say traveling by air is safer than car. Maybe so. But I am beginning to wonder. Perhaps the next step is to muzzle all passengers.

Of course such things, they say are rare. The hitch is that they are getting less rare.

Mnemonics and Computers

The prompt on search engine optimization and the kind explanation of the meaning of the mnemonic triggered some old memories of when I worked on computers. It was back in the 1970s though 80s. Some of the machines I worked on weighed tons, literally. The processor cabinets alone were 1500 pounds and there were three of them. To work on them, we had the aid of microfilm, about eight or nine pounds of them.

Mostly it was lists of signal and the paths they took. I will save you the details but they used mnemonics for signal names. For instance, atbe001, which stood for A register to B register enable for bit one. We got used to them quickly, first in our work. We knew exactly what each signal was for from its mnemonic or its name.

It is training I used quite a bit and became practiced at it, a lot.

Now, it is a little odd. Those tons of computers are now scrap. The knowledge, required then is mostly useless now.

Even so, occasionally I see a license plate and I say to myself, “Yeah that’s the signal that….” Recently, not so much. Even these memories are fading.

Occasionally, I do learn new mnemonics. However, retired and almost eighty, the just aren’t so important as they were.