For decades, the challenge of AI “understanding” human speech was summarized by this humorous phrase: Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. To set a benchmark for Project 2124, WLBOTT presents the current state of the art, and will revisit this topic every 25 years until 2124. Calendar Friday, May 3, 2024 […]
Category: TechnoBLOTT
BLOTTarians – I’m having dinner at a Texas bbq joint with a guy from Kazakhstan and another from China. Just talked with someone who went to Cuba and is heading to Turkey. And we just went to Japan and our son to NZ. Life today is tied to using internet , relatively cheap travel, AI, […]
UC#3 has asked the near-impossible of WLBOTT. He wants us to make “plumb bobs” interesting. UC#2 might want to pivot on his research to fully investigate the origins and use of plumb bobs in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman construction. Full Fulbright guaranteed UC#3 Challenge Accepted! Etymology The plumb in plumb bob derives from Latin […]
Gentle Blotters– another site we need to add to our tour list is Pont du Gard. Magnificent arch structure used as an aqueduct near Nimes France. My spousal unit and I visited circa 1994. At that time, you could park in a lot, walk up a bunch of stairs and then physically walk through the […]
Store Shelves Are Empty We all know the frustration of going to WalMart, looking for a few holiday eclipses, and being met with empty shelves and cheap knock-offs. Cause: Reduced Agricultural Harvesting of Eclipses The cause of this agricultural shortfall is the dreaded eclipse weevil. Cause: Manufacturing Issues We are extremely disappointed in our friends […]
Categories
Low Google Fiber Diet
WLBOTT Corporate Headquarters has been basking in the glow of Google Fiber for several months now. It is indeed a thing of beauty. However, yesterday, 7:14am CST, it went dead. Marching uphill through gale-force humidity, I made it to our local public library, where I was able to use a public Internet workstation and chat […]
Categories
Tortillas, part II
UC#3’s pursuit of the perfect tortilla continues…. My research has resulted in me being on WLBOTT Team Lard for tortillas, but one can’t overlook the side benefit of cooked bacon by being on WLBOTT Team Bacon Fat. Results to be featured in a peer reviewed article in the American Journal of Clogged Arteries[1]. UC#3 Tortilla […]
I know that comparing things to football fields is a pain-point for the WLBOTT team. So how about this one: A satellite will likely make an uncontrolled return through Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday, according to the latest estimates from the European Space Agency. ERS-2, which weighs about as much as an adult male rhinoceros, could […]
Categories
Celebrating Valerie Thomas
Today we celebrate Valerie Thomas. She showed that the magic of fascination can often lead to concrete scientific applications for real-world problem-solving. – Black Inventor Valerie L. Thomas (born February 8, 1943) is an American data scientist and inventor. She invented the illusion transmitter, for which she received a patent in 1980. She was responsible […]
Categories
Slide Rules
One slide rule remaining in daily use around the world is the E6B. This is a circular slide rule first created in the 1930s for aircraft pilots to help with dead reckoning. With the aid of scales printed on the frame it also helps with such miscellaneous tasks as converting time, distance, speed, and temperature […]