I read a great Language Log post today.  It involves dating and understanding whether your date is engaged in the conversation based on "stress" and "activity."  It's very interesting because we are, again, dealing with people and their behavior(s).  When we do so, things always become interesting. (especially on dates, or speed-dates!).  Maybe we ( Read more... )

Random event on this day in history:

For all the sewing buff's out there, today in 1851 Isaac Singer was granted a patent on his sewing machine.

This is a *great* article on common sense and science from today's' New York Times.  For me, it becomes very interesting when Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes a factor in the equation.  Although not specifically in AI, I, too, have interests that lie in the cognitive processes, primarily in language processing/understanding.  I think if you ( Read more... )

From today's New York Times.
Perfectly Fat

The reports of a widespread obesity epidemic in America may have helped people think more seriously about their eating habits. But perhaps there's also a backlash against the idea that the food police are out to get you. You can almost hear the words - even though the mouth is full: "No one's going to ( Read more... )

Having a place to live because you know the person renting to you is a good thing just to get your foot in the door to a decent place for decent money. However, it usually stops there. The people become extremely informal in regards to the way they are supposed to be conducting their business (renting their apartment!). For instance, my water is ( Read more... )

While I was driving home, something occurred to me. It came after I saw a sign for town distances (this one in particular said 'Highland 7'). However, it looked as if the '7' was a plate that was glued to the plaque. What immediately came to mind was someone complaining about the "actual" distance between towns. "Yeah, hi, I'm farmer John. I ( Read more... )

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From Harper's magazine website, July 8:


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