The Flesh-and-Blood Chatbot
Donald Trump doesn’t think — he responds. He’s a flesh-and-blood chatbot. That’s not an insult. It’s a structural description. He operates like a predictive-text system built out of muscle memory, appetite, and grievance. He takes inputs, measures what gets attention, and outputs words calibrated for maximum reaction. He doesn’t reason, he completes. The Algorithm Wearing…
Malshandir, for Butthurt
Recently, a controversy broke out over the name “Malshandir.” I’d have never known anything about it, but a friend of mine, Ken White over at Popehat, wrote about it. He mentioned on another website that he wanted a Photoshop image created with a tube of a substance called “Malshandir Butthurt Cream,” for “when your ass…
I Unbroke My Site
This is a really major irritation. I’ve no idea how this happened, but apparently the Featured Content Carousel plug-in became activated on my website. I don’t know if I was experimenting with something and didn’t realize what I’d done, or if it was some theme I tried out briefly and then deleted, or what. At…
Palin’s Portional
A lot of people have expressed puzzlement over Palin’s recent decision to quit the governorship of Alaska. Rumors swirl about the reason behind her sudden departure. An article at The Daily Beast proffers 11 reasons, but does not touch on the obvious. (I would refer you to the actual Daily Beast article, but after noticing…
The Truth About Bunny Chafowitz
From time to time, I make reference to Bunny Chafowitz. “Who is Bunny Chafowitz?,” people ask. “Is that her real name?” It can wait no longer. The time has come. I must tell you “The Truth About Bunny Chafowitz.” I must, also, warn you that it will at times be a somewhat sappy story.
Elsewhere, I'm Busily Blogging
Sometimes I wonder if it’s wise of me to try to maintain so many interests and, in particular, so many blogs. This blog and website, of course, I consider my “personal” blog. Most of my blogging, however, is done elsewhere, on my professional blogs. Recently, I’ve been much concerned about issues of personal freedom, the…
Chopsticks & Jews: A Christmas Tradition
But that shouldn’t really be a problem, nu? This morning, there was some (very minimal) discussion on Twitter regarding the American Jewish Christmas Tradition of going out to a movie and a Chinese restaurant. My wife — not a native-born member of the tribe — was puzzling over a minor objection I raised this morning…
Let Me See
According to a quiz over at the Most Trusted Name in News (CNN), my “gaming style” is “Visual.” This means I think in pictures and have a talent for building and designing things. CNN suggests that I challenge my brain by doing crossword puzzles, or learning an new language. Just thought you might want to…
Unspun™ : All That’s Left of Some Poor Soul’s Past
Unspun™ started around 2003 as a blog where I could react to the increasingly conservative “spin” on the news which now has become almost self-parody at Faux News. From 2003 to 2008, Unspun™ functioned as my “personal blog,” distinct from various “professional blogs” I kept for businesses like TechStop™. With the advent of RickHorowitz.com, I now intend to have Unspun™ focus more carefully on political and social commentary.
Fresno Criminal Defense
I’ve been involved in the Internet since before it was commercially available. While (somewhat) aimlessly pursuing my undergraduate degree in Philosophy, I became involved with some computer scientists and philosophers who were looking into neural networks and other cognitive science issues. Without getting into too long of a story here, the ultimate point is that…
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