In Which I Brag About How Incredibly Well My Life is Going

Double Exposure

A twice-exposed photograph is composed
of two half-stories, and only the film sees the lies for what they are:
Cover-ups, preventing light from striking sensitive surfaces.

The ignorance it brings is beautiful,
the viewer left to wonder how coffee became the stuff of words
and how those words were swallowed
thick and bitter.
















Poem:
Another poem done on request. I was told to write about double exposed photographs, and draw big profound connections. I gave it a shot, but it seems like most of my connections these days are somewhat depressing. Which is weird, because things are going really well currently. Anyway, the image was a fun one. The rest can be found here: http://m.gizmodo.com/5761009/85-daring-double-exposures

Observation:
My iPhone is actually doing something more useful than I would have expected. Yes, I now get to listen to my music, play games, take photos, and do generally amusing things. But I'm also more in touch with current news than I have been in years. I have an entire screen of my phone devoted to news apps, and my new habit is to catch up on events during my commute to class. It is through this process that I read about IBM's computer defeating Ken Jennings at Jeopardy. I don't have a problem with this. What I do have a problem with is the claim that this is a huge step in the development of artificial intelligence. It seems to me that there is a misunderstanding about what artificial intelligence entails. Jeopardy is not an intelligence test. Nothing about the show tests a person's ability to communicate (beyond the most basic level), their ability to problem-solve, or their ability to act human, all of which are traditional hallmarks of what an artificially intelligent things should be able to do. The only advancement Watson has shown is a leap forward in language recognition. The fact that Watson was rarely stumped is actually pretty remarkable given the difficulties presented by the English language, particularly in Jeopardy questions. But the fact that Watson answered the questions correctly isn't what showed intelligence. That's just regurgitating canned responses. So the advancement we should be paying attention to isn't the fact it knew the answers, but that it knew what the questions were asking. And that's a long way from intelligence, since it's just (a valiant and surprisingly well-accomplished) ridding human language of ambiguity.

Exercise:
"The Morning After the Party"
Describe an apartment the morning after a party.

The state of affairs defied explanation. Not only were empty containers of alcohol strewn everywhere, but John had no idea what to make of the person passed out on the couch, or the fact that she was apparently attempting to cuddle with the toaster. He vaguely recalled the kitchen appliance being thrown around briefly in an attempt to recreate scenes from "The Brave Little Toaster." Come to think of it, that might also explain why the radio was perched precariously in the middle of the stairway. Thank goodness he didn't own an electric blanket or an upright vacuum cleaner. "I do have an air conditioner, though."
He stumbled into the next room, and sure enough, his air conditioner was covered in duct tape, with what appeared to be a pair of very angry, if lopsided, eyes drawn on in magic marker. At least it was still there. He wandered back to stare a bit more at the figure on the couch. She must have shown some significant dedication to protect the toaster even into her sleep.

Me:
I received some pretty awesome news today. I'm going to be listed as an inventor on a patent on a gene-isolating procedure. For any of you who don't know what this means, what's going to happen is that nothing will change except for the fact that I will soon be carrying a plaque with me wherever I go. I won't be making any money from it, but the effects this will have on my resume alone will be dramatic. And I plan on introducing myself occasionally (rarely) as: Ryan Pesch, Inventor. I still find the situation amusing. I can only imagine the story as explained to an outsider:
My boss: Well, we'd like to work on this new project to isolate and identify this gene we put into this corn plant. Do we know anyone?
Boss #2: Wait, didn't Carol say her son was kinda smart?
Boss #1: You mean the dishwasher kid? Didn't he say he was in school for something silly? Like, philosophy?
Boss #2: But we wouldn't have to gather applications and go through the process of explaining why all our equipment is outdated...
Boss #1: Well, it's worth a shot.

And here we are. One patent on its way. Well, applied for with an almost-guarantee of acceptance.

The news about my patent was a huge surprise, and almost excessive considering I had just recently gotten back a test I took that I scored well on. I missed two questions, argued back one, and the test was curved one question's worth. So I guess I got 100%. When I was talking to my professor about the question I thought was worded poorly I said I didn't really need the point, but that if other people had been thinking along the same lines as me, she might consider that option. She said that it was perfectly fine, and it was good I brought it up in case I wanted her to write me a letter of recommendation. That was completely out of the blue, since this is the first class I've had with her, and it's still early in the semester. But it's good to know I probably don't have to worry about finding people willing to write me letters if all it takes is one month and a decent test to have that offer put on the table. All in all, this has been a good day.