You know that most food stickers are now made out of plastic, right? I mean, you can eat them and it's not going to kill you. But you're swallowing plastic. The glue is supposed to be relatively edible. (If you're composting your kitchen scraps, you should peel or cut off the sticker first; even most paper stickers aren't biodegradable.)
I don't care. They can't be bad for you because the fruit company's legal liability would be crippling. I eat em. I don't care if they are paper, plastic, or igneous rock. They are not gonna kill me.
No, did not know! I take them all off in a sort of "Jill" way, right when I get home from the store. Don't want them lingering, these are now MY foods, not Chiquita or DelMonte.
Fortune cookies never even attempt to tell fortunes. They're worthless. And why? They should be something that makes it worth the trouble of cleaning up all those crumbs. Like "You'll soon meet a tall person with eyes of an unusual color who will change your life," "An idea you had last week will make someone rich," or "There will be an attempt on your life before midnight tomorrow."
Packaging that's ridiculously difficult to open is way beyond being a "Jill," it's a daily ordeal that annoys everyone and continues to get worse. I understand the necessity of precautions to keep toddlers from ingesting medicines and cleaning solutions, but why does it have to be so damn hard to open crackers or ketchup? If the concern is tampering, there's no need to make containers maddening for everyone every time, just make it easy to see if it's been compromised.
I agree with the light-switch person. I will go down to the basement to turn off the lights and ascend in the dark, rather than have the first-floor light switch in the wrong position.
Bear in mind that this may be affecting your love life. I broke up with a narcissistic control freak who, among other things, insisted that only the switch at the top of the cellar stairs be used so you would always know that up was on and down was off. So you had to climb the stairs in the dark. He also insisted that I could not start using clean bath towels until he was ready to change his because if I changed mine prematurely our towels wouldn't match.
While we're exchanging anal retentive habits, the Ig Nobel Prizes for 2023 have sadly been ignored --- until now. This year's category winners for the legendary (since 1991) competition for the most trivial or uh...unusual... achievements in scientific research include:
* Chemistry/Geology: An explanation of why many scientists like to lick rocks.
* Literature: A study of "jamais vu"** (as opposed to "déjà vu ") via the sensations people feel when they repeat a single word many, many, many, many, many, many, many times.
** The feeling you're experiencing something novel or new, but knowing you have experienced it before.
* Mechanical Engineering: An experiment re-animating dead spiders to use as mechanical gripping tools.
* Communication: A study of the mental activities of people who are expert at speaking backward.
* Education: A study of the impact of teacher boredom on student boredom
* Psychology: Experiments on a city street to see how many passersby stop to look upward when they see strangers looking upward
My Jill goes beyond bananas. I hate labels on pretty much everything. I cut the labels off of towels and washcloths. And scarves. (Labels inside clothes are okay, but if I see someone with a label sticking out of the neck of their T-shirt, I will tap them on the shoulder while saying, "Excuse me, your tag is out," then tuck the offending label back in, pat the area and say, "Now you're perfect." No one has complained so far.) I peel labels off of plastic items like wastebaskets, and am annoyed when I see them on other people's stuff.
I go part way on this one. My major bother is people with new cars that leave all that information on the back window. (Months?) OK. We know it is new. Go home.
I heard that joke [Roo-Roo] a good many years back as "BOBO" and always told it as "But first, BOBO!" Never heard it with " a little," so I am once again on the Barry side of things.
I don’t especially disagree with Jeff’s analysis, and glad to see it shared. Except that he strikes me as an optimist to believe that terrifyingly advanced AI will remain under human control at all.
The real and present danger of AI is that of built-in bias of different kinds which can readily become embedded with each iteration of the technology. There is a pseudo-objectiveness at the center of the hype for machine-learning that is more wishful thinking then fact largely because of AI's "black box" problem --- that is, how deep learning systems actually make their decisions. A big part of this needed but missing transparency has to do with the intense competition to monetize or commercialize the technology. AI is very much a difference in kind, rather than degree, in terms of transformative technology. It's probably closest in terms of social impact to the introduction of the steam-powered knitting machine which sparked the Industrial Revolution --- and raised many of the same questions we face with AI, as it makes its inevitable way into everyday life. The issue is how we deal with this sea change now.
Possibly the grandparent of all AI stories as a realistic prediction and possibly the only way it might impact us (as opposed to Skynet or even 2001.
Murray was one smart writer. And a favorite for me: "In the story, a logic (whom Ducky later calls Joe) develops some degree of sapience and ambition. Joe proceeds to switch around a few relays in "the tank" (one of a distributed set of central information repositories), and cross-correlate all information ever assembled – yielding highly unexpected results. It then proceeds to freely disseminate all of those results to everyone on demand (and simultaneously disabling all of the content-filtering protocols)."
There is something nicely congruent with our schizophrenic times in the use of non-biodegradable plastic PLU ("Price Look Up") labels on organic produce. Of course it's essential to make certain that you're not buying garden-variety Kumquats. Heaven forfend ! So, you sprayed your Ugli fruit with a mixture of water, vinegar and lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing it and adroitly removed that label informing you that you are the possessor of the only Ugli fruit in existence with number 90578651. Now what do you do ? Simply throw the pesky, non-biodegradable label away ? I should hope not. There are much better alternatives. (1) Slap it on your forehead to display your virtuousness to one and all; (2) Collect a dozen or so and send them to Gene as an edible votive offering; (3) Join the hobby of fruit label collecting and yes, of course there's a web site ("The World of Fruit Labels") to get you on your way; (4) Make collages. Imagine the yelps of surprise from friends and relatives on opening your holiday gifts this year, or (4) Tag those neighborhood brats. Much less noticeable than spray paint.
Based on today's posts and the related links, it seems that James Cameron's screenplay for The Terminator was prescient. When AI achieves sentience, it wants to do away with the competition: humans.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that know-it-all John Philoponus was also known as "John the Grammarian," and may very likely be with us reincarnated as our own Empress of Evite.
At first I had the same reaction as Gene to the person with the statement that setting thermostats and volume levels to even numbers must be “pretty common”. Why would that be common? My theory is that the person doesn’t mean “even” numbers in the mathematical sense, but rather in the sense of being an exact multiple of 5 or 10 rather than a number in between.
You know that most food stickers are now made out of plastic, right? I mean, you can eat them and it's not going to kill you. But you're swallowing plastic. The glue is supposed to be relatively edible. (If you're composting your kitchen scraps, you should peel or cut off the sticker first; even most paper stickers aren't biodegradable.)
I don't care. They can't be bad for you because the fruit company's legal liability would be crippling. I eat em. I don't care if they are paper, plastic, or igneous rock. They are not gonna kill me.
I might just have to start eating them now that Pat has made me feel guilty about not removing them before using the compost bin.
No, did not know! I take them all off in a sort of "Jill" way, right when I get home from the store. Don't want them lingering, these are now MY foods, not Chiquita or DelMonte.
Hear hear. Mine, mine, mine
Fortune cookies never even attempt to tell fortunes. They're worthless. And why? They should be something that makes it worth the trouble of cleaning up all those crumbs. Like "You'll soon meet a tall person with eyes of an unusual color who will change your life," "An idea you had last week will make someone rich," or "There will be an attempt on your life before midnight tomorrow."
Packaging that's ridiculously difficult to open is way beyond being a "Jill," it's a daily ordeal that annoys everyone and continues to get worse. I understand the necessity of precautions to keep toddlers from ingesting medicines and cleaning solutions, but why does it have to be so damn hard to open crackers or ketchup? If the concern is tampering, there's no need to make containers maddening for everyone every time, just make it easy to see if it's been compromised.
Great to hear from Jeff after a long time. He was always one of my favorite SI players, so clever!
I agree with the light-switch person. I will go down to the basement to turn off the lights and ascend in the dark, rather than have the first-floor light switch in the wrong position.
I am truly sorry to hear this.
Bear in mind that this may be affecting your love life. I broke up with a narcissistic control freak who, among other things, insisted that only the switch at the top of the cellar stairs be used so you would always know that up was on and down was off. So you had to climb the stairs in the dark. He also insisted that I could not start using clean bath towels until he was ready to change his because if I changed mine prematurely our towels wouldn't match.
I've been married for 35 years to the same person. I have no love life.
Sad emoji
While we're exchanging anal retentive habits, the Ig Nobel Prizes for 2023 have sadly been ignored --- until now. This year's category winners for the legendary (since 1991) competition for the most trivial or uh...unusual... achievements in scientific research include:
* Chemistry/Geology: An explanation of why many scientists like to lick rocks.
* Literature: A study of "jamais vu"** (as opposed to "déjà vu ") via the sensations people feel when they repeat a single word many, many, many, many, many, many, many times.
** The feeling you're experiencing something novel or new, but knowing you have experienced it before.
* Mechanical Engineering: An experiment re-animating dead spiders to use as mechanical gripping tools.
* Communication: A study of the mental activities of people who are expert at speaking backward.
* Education: A study of the impact of teacher boredom on student boredom
* Psychology: Experiments on a city street to see how many passersby stop to look upward when they see strangers looking upward
My Jill goes beyond bananas. I hate labels on pretty much everything. I cut the labels off of towels and washcloths. And scarves. (Labels inside clothes are okay, but if I see someone with a label sticking out of the neck of their T-shirt, I will tap them on the shoulder while saying, "Excuse me, your tag is out," then tuck the offending label back in, pat the area and say, "Now you're perfect." No one has complained so far.) I peel labels off of plastic items like wastebaskets, and am annoyed when I see them on other people's stuff.
I go part way on this one. My major bother is people with new cars that leave all that information on the back window. (Months?) OK. We know it is new. Go home.
I heard that joke [Roo-Roo] a good many years back as "BOBO" and always told it as "But first, BOBO!" Never heard it with " a little," so I am once again on the Barry side of things.
I don’t especially disagree with Jeff’s analysis, and glad to see it shared. Except that he strikes me as an optimist to believe that terrifyingly advanced AI will remain under human control at all.
The real and present danger of AI is that of built-in bias of different kinds which can readily become embedded with each iteration of the technology. There is a pseudo-objectiveness at the center of the hype for machine-learning that is more wishful thinking then fact largely because of AI's "black box" problem --- that is, how deep learning systems actually make their decisions. A big part of this needed but missing transparency has to do with the intense competition to monetize or commercialize the technology. AI is very much a difference in kind, rather than degree, in terms of transformative technology. It's probably closest in terms of social impact to the introduction of the steam-powered knitting machine which sparked the Industrial Revolution --- and raised many of the same questions we face with AI, as it makes its inevitable way into everyday life. The issue is how we deal with this sea change now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Logic_Named_Joe
Possibly the grandparent of all AI stories as a realistic prediction and possibly the only way it might impact us (as opposed to Skynet or even 2001.
Murray was one smart writer. And a favorite for me: "In the story, a logic (whom Ducky later calls Joe) develops some degree of sapience and ambition. Joe proceeds to switch around a few relays in "the tank" (one of a distributed set of central information repositories), and cross-correlate all information ever assembled – yielding highly unexpected results. It then proceeds to freely disseminate all of those results to everyone on demand (and simultaneously disabling all of the content-filtering protocols)."
There is something nicely congruent with our schizophrenic times in the use of non-biodegradable plastic PLU ("Price Look Up") labels on organic produce. Of course it's essential to make certain that you're not buying garden-variety Kumquats. Heaven forfend ! So, you sprayed your Ugli fruit with a mixture of water, vinegar and lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing it and adroitly removed that label informing you that you are the possessor of the only Ugli fruit in existence with number 90578651. Now what do you do ? Simply throw the pesky, non-biodegradable label away ? I should hope not. There are much better alternatives. (1) Slap it on your forehead to display your virtuousness to one and all; (2) Collect a dozen or so and send them to Gene as an edible votive offering; (3) Join the hobby of fruit label collecting and yes, of course there's a web site ("The World of Fruit Labels") to get you on your way; (4) Make collages. Imagine the yelps of surprise from friends and relatives on opening your holiday gifts this year, or (4) Tag those neighborhood brats. Much less noticeable than spray paint.
Based on today's posts and the related links, it seems that James Cameron's screenplay for The Terminator was prescient. When AI achieves sentience, it wants to do away with the competition: humans.
The worst parasites and viruses kill off the hosts. The most successful live with their hosts.
All body knows it's "First. THE roo roo."
I actually first heard it as, "Death BY roo roo."
I would be remiss if I didn't point out that know-it-all John Philoponus was also known as "John the Grammarian," and may very likely be with us reincarnated as our own Empress of Evite.
At first I had the same reaction as Gene to the person with the statement that setting thermostats and volume levels to even numbers must be “pretty common”. Why would that be common? My theory is that the person doesn’t mean “even” numbers in the mathematical sense, but rather in the sense of being an exact multiple of 5 or 10 rather than a number in between.
Noooo. It was me and I thought more people naturally knew that even numbers somehow seem friendlier. Five isn't even!
I can favor prime numbers.