wookiemonster (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wookiemonster) wrote2012-08-02 12:08 am
wookiemonster) wrote2012-08-02 12:08 am
Entry tags:
Sick of being sick
Ugh.
Woke up with a nasty headache and sinus congestion. I blame the weather, the impending heat wave, and everyone cutting their grass over the past few days. Including myself. And tonight, I've had some esophagitis issues and resultant anxiety. I am Not Happy. To round all this out, I had some anxiety this morning, since I had nightmares all last night and woke up several times. So, I didn't sleep well. Despite that, I couldn't seem to sleep for more than an hour at a time during the day. So, in addition to the anxiety, I have a decidedly disconnected feeling today.
Rocky pretty much stayed with me all day, whether I was napping or downstairs watching TV. He, Yoda, Bonnie, and I finished watching Terminator 2: Judgment Day and started watching season two, volume one of the original Transformers. You know, the introduction of Spike's girlfriend, Carlie, has Carlie as a rather strong female character. She's not only a grad student at MIT, but she also manages to hang out with the Autobots and even plants a bomb on Decepticon HQ. And her grasp of particle physics allows her to sabotage Wheeljack's stolen invention - the Immobilizer (which sounds like a knee brace used right after surgery to me). She's just shy of a Mary Sue character, which makes her a welcome addition instead of annoying.
I still say T2 is an awesome movie and not only my favorite Terminator movie, but also one of my all-time favorites. Sadly, it's depressing on how, in the same way no one listens to Sarah Connor, our defense department doesn't listen to many people about programming machines to do our killing for us. Terminators, Cylons... We're screwed because human hubris makes those people think they'll stay in control. Then again, because we can't value other human lives, we're pretty much boned in any event.
To be clear: I'm not against artificial intelligence. In fact, done right, AI can be more human than human intelligence. And when you program a machine to not kill, but rather to protect life, as Asimov does, then we get Data, KITT, and Emergency Medical Holograms. It's creating machines that can learn to kill that bothers me. It's bad enough that we kill, but, and apologies if this seems a bit cavalier, but, have we gotten so lazy that we need machines to kill for us? If that's the case, then maybe we deserve what we've got coming to us.
But then, I lose faith in humanity a little bit every day...
Books Read in 2012
1. * The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov (239)
2. *The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (390)
3. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov (253)
4. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (378)
5. The Sandman: Book of Dreams Edited by Neil Gaiman and Ed Kramer (402)
6. The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines (344)
7. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (370)
8. Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas (125)
9. The Mermaid’s Madness by Jim C. Hines (339)
10. The Truth by Terry Pratchett (348)
11. Apollo 11 Owner’s Workshop Manual by Dr. Christopher Riley and Phil Dolling (196)
12. Red Hood’s Revenge by Jim C. Hines (337)
13. Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett (357)
14. The Snow Queen’s Shadow by Jim C. Hines (333)
15. The Land of Sand by Makoto Inoue (217)
16. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (408)
17. The Abducted Alchemist by Makoto Inoue (182)
18. The Valley of White Petals by Makoto Inoue (212)
19. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett (389)
20. Under the Faraway Sky by Makoto Inoue (214)
21. ST: Stargazer: The Valiant by Michael Jan Friedman (279)
22. The Ties That Bind by Makoto Inoue (222)
23. ST: Stargazer: Gauntlet by Michael Jan Friedman (266)
24. ST: Stargazer: Progenitor by Michael Jan Friedman (263)
25. Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (629)
26. ST: Stargazer: Three by Michael Jan Friedman (247)
27. Mudd’s Angels by J.A. Lawrence (177)
28. ST: Stargazer: Oblivion by Michael Jan Friedman (259)
29. ST:DTI: Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennett (346)
30. ST: First Frontier by Diane Carey and Dr. James L. Kirkland (383)
31. ST: Stargazer: Enigma by Michael Jan Friedman (258)
32. The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison (402)
33. ST: Stargazer: Maker by Michael Jan Friedman (273)
34. ST: TOS: The Captain’s Daughter by Peter David (278)
35. ST:TNG: The Buried Age by Christopher L/ Bennett (433)
36. Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (308)
37. ST:TNG: Balance of Power by Dafydd ab Hugh (296)
38. ST:TOS: Twilight’s End by Jerry Oltion (272)
39. ST:DS9: Devil in the Sky by Greg Cox and John Gregory Betancourt (280)
40. ST:VOY: Bless the Beasts by Karen Haber (274)
41. Spook Country by William Gibson (480)
42. ST:TNG: Blaze of Glory by Simon Hawke (277)
43. Zero History by William Gibson (404)
Kindle/eBooks
1. * SW: The Dark Lord Trilogy by James Luceno and Matthew Stover (1098)
2. *The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen (201)
3. *Cat Wrangling Made Easy by Dusty Rainbolt (273)
4. SW: Death Star by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry (436)
5. SW: The Star Wars Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster, George Lucas, Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn (700)
6. Kitemaster and Other Stories by Jim C. Hines (100)
7. Goblin Tales by Jim C. Hines (80)
8. Chicken Little by Cory Doctorow (100)
9. How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story by John Scalzi (100)
10. The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III (100)
11. Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer (153)
12. Sleep: A Groundbreaking Guide to the Mysteries, the Problems, and the Solutions by Carlos H. Schenck (300)
13. The Camelot Papers by Peter David (445)
14. Fight the Gods by Michael Jan Friedman (320)
15. Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov (264)
16. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Intimacy by Dr. Paul Coleman (296)
17. Space Chronicles by Neil deGrasse Tyson (384)
18. No Small Bills by Aaron Rosenberg (337)
19. ST: Vanguard: Storming Heaven by David Mack (342)
20. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (375)
21. Dark and Stormy Knights Edited by P.N. Elrod (357)
22. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (674)
23. Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy (287)
24. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (760)
25. ST: Typhon Pact: Plagues of Night by David R. George III (384)
26. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (925)
27. ST: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by David R. George III (394)
28. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (244)
29. Creative People Must Be Stopped by David A. Owens (304)
Comics/Graphic Novels/ Manga
1. * Green Arrow 53-74, Green Arrow Year One 1-6
2. Green Arrow and Black Canary by DC Comics (1-32)
3. Green Arrow Brightest Day by DC Comics (1-15)
4. Nightwing by DC Comics (95, 97-99, 102-153)
5. Star Wars: Republic by Dark Horse Comics (68-83)
6. Star Wars: Empire by Dark Horse Comics (32-40)
7. Star Wars: Rebellion by Dark Horse Comics (1-16)
8. Justice League Adventures by DC Comics (27, 31, 33)
9. Justice League Unlimited by DC Comics (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10-12, 14-40, 43-45)
10. Vlad the Impaler by Sid Jacobsen
11. Teen Titans Go! By DC Comics (2,3,6,9-55)
12. Farscape: War Torn by Marv Wolfman (1-2)
13. Terror Titans by DC Comics (1-6)
14. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Dynamite Comics (6 issues)
15. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Dynamite Comics (5,6,8)
16. Batman by DC Comics (693-713)
*Denotes Book started in 2011
**Goal: 70 Books
*** ST = Star Trek
TOS = The Original Series
TNG = The Next Generation
DS9 = Deep Space Nine
VOY = Voyager
SW = Star Wars
Brewster Rockit
Non Sequitur
The Devil's Panties
The Oatmeal
Player vs. Player
Posted at LiveJournal and Dreamwidth
Woke up with a nasty headache and sinus congestion. I blame the weather, the impending heat wave, and everyone cutting their grass over the past few days. Including myself. And tonight, I've had some esophagitis issues and resultant anxiety. I am Not Happy. To round all this out, I had some anxiety this morning, since I had nightmares all last night and woke up several times. So, I didn't sleep well. Despite that, I couldn't seem to sleep for more than an hour at a time during the day. So, in addition to the anxiety, I have a decidedly disconnected feeling today.
Rocky pretty much stayed with me all day, whether I was napping or downstairs watching TV. He, Yoda, Bonnie, and I finished watching Terminator 2: Judgment Day and started watching season two, volume one of the original Transformers. You know, the introduction of Spike's girlfriend, Carlie, has Carlie as a rather strong female character. She's not only a grad student at MIT, but she also manages to hang out with the Autobots and even plants a bomb on Decepticon HQ. And her grasp of particle physics allows her to sabotage Wheeljack's stolen invention - the Immobilizer (which sounds like a knee brace used right after surgery to me). She's just shy of a Mary Sue character, which makes her a welcome addition instead of annoying.
I still say T2 is an awesome movie and not only my favorite Terminator movie, but also one of my all-time favorites. Sadly, it's depressing on how, in the same way no one listens to Sarah Connor, our defense department doesn't listen to many people about programming machines to do our killing for us. Terminators, Cylons... We're screwed because human hubris makes those people think they'll stay in control. Then again, because we can't value other human lives, we're pretty much boned in any event.
To be clear: I'm not against artificial intelligence. In fact, done right, AI can be more human than human intelligence. And when you program a machine to not kill, but rather to protect life, as Asimov does, then we get Data, KITT, and Emergency Medical Holograms. It's creating machines that can learn to kill that bothers me. It's bad enough that we kill, but, and apologies if this seems a bit cavalier, but, have we gotten so lazy that we need machines to kill for us? If that's the case, then maybe we deserve what we've got coming to us.
But then, I lose faith in humanity a little bit every day...
Books Read in 2012
1. * The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov (239)
2. *The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (390)
3. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov (253)
4. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (378)
5. The Sandman: Book of Dreams Edited by Neil Gaiman and Ed Kramer (402)
6. The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines (344)
7. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett (370)
8. Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas (125)
9. The Mermaid’s Madness by Jim C. Hines (339)
10. The Truth by Terry Pratchett (348)
11. Apollo 11 Owner’s Workshop Manual by Dr. Christopher Riley and Phil Dolling (196)
12. Red Hood’s Revenge by Jim C. Hines (337)
13. Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett (357)
14. The Snow Queen’s Shadow by Jim C. Hines (333)
15. The Land of Sand by Makoto Inoue (217)
16. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (408)
17. The Abducted Alchemist by Makoto Inoue (182)
18. The Valley of White Petals by Makoto Inoue (212)
19. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett (389)
20. Under the Faraway Sky by Makoto Inoue (214)
21. ST: Stargazer: The Valiant by Michael Jan Friedman (279)
22. The Ties That Bind by Makoto Inoue (222)
23. ST: Stargazer: Gauntlet by Michael Jan Friedman (266)
24. ST: Stargazer: Progenitor by Michael Jan Friedman (263)
25. Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (629)
26. ST: Stargazer: Three by Michael Jan Friedman (247)
27. Mudd’s Angels by J.A. Lawrence (177)
28. ST: Stargazer: Oblivion by Michael Jan Friedman (259)
29. ST:DTI: Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennett (346)
30. ST: First Frontier by Diane Carey and Dr. James L. Kirkland (383)
31. ST: Stargazer: Enigma by Michael Jan Friedman (258)
32. The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison (402)
33. ST: Stargazer: Maker by Michael Jan Friedman (273)
34. ST: TOS: The Captain’s Daughter by Peter David (278)
35. ST:TNG: The Buried Age by Christopher L/ Bennett (433)
36. Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (308)
37. ST:TNG: Balance of Power by Dafydd ab Hugh (296)
38. ST:TOS: Twilight’s End by Jerry Oltion (272)
39. ST:DS9: Devil in the Sky by Greg Cox and John Gregory Betancourt (280)
40. ST:VOY: Bless the Beasts by Karen Haber (274)
41. Spook Country by William Gibson (480)
42. ST:TNG: Blaze of Glory by Simon Hawke (277)
43. Zero History by William Gibson (404)
Kindle/eBooks
1. * SW: The Dark Lord Trilogy by James Luceno and Matthew Stover (1098)
2. *The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen (201)
3. *Cat Wrangling Made Easy by Dusty Rainbolt (273)
4. SW: Death Star by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry (436)
5. SW: The Star Wars Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster, George Lucas, Donald F. Glut, and James Kahn (700)
6. Kitemaster and Other Stories by Jim C. Hines (100)
7. Goblin Tales by Jim C. Hines (80)
8. Chicken Little by Cory Doctorow (100)
9. How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story by John Scalzi (100)
10. The Haunted Vagina by Carlton Mellick III (100)
11. Confessions of a D-List Supervillain by Jim Bernheimer (153)
12. Sleep: A Groundbreaking Guide to the Mysteries, the Problems, and the Solutions by Carlos H. Schenck (300)
13. The Camelot Papers by Peter David (445)
14. Fight the Gods by Michael Jan Friedman (320)
15. Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov (264)
16. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Intimacy by Dr. Paul Coleman (296)
17. Space Chronicles by Neil deGrasse Tyson (384)
18. No Small Bills by Aaron Rosenberg (337)
19. ST: Vanguard: Storming Heaven by David Mack (342)
20. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (375)
21. Dark and Stormy Knights Edited by P.N. Elrod (357)
22. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (674)
23. Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy (287)
24. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (760)
25. ST: Typhon Pact: Plagues of Night by David R. George III (384)
26. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (925)
27. ST: Typhon Pact: Raise the Dawn by David R. George III (394)
28. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (244)
29. Creative People Must Be Stopped by David A. Owens (304)
Comics/Graphic Novels/ Manga
1. * Green Arrow 53-74, Green Arrow Year One 1-6
2. Green Arrow and Black Canary by DC Comics (1-32)
3. Green Arrow Brightest Day by DC Comics (1-15)
4. Nightwing by DC Comics (95, 97-99, 102-153)
5. Star Wars: Republic by Dark Horse Comics (68-83)
6. Star Wars: Empire by Dark Horse Comics (32-40)
7. Star Wars: Rebellion by Dark Horse Comics (1-16)
8. Justice League Adventures by DC Comics (27, 31, 33)
9. Justice League Unlimited by DC Comics (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10-12, 14-40, 43-45)
10. Vlad the Impaler by Sid Jacobsen
11. Teen Titans Go! By DC Comics (2,3,6,9-55)
12. Farscape: War Torn by Marv Wolfman (1-2)
13. Terror Titans by DC Comics (1-6)
14. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Dynamite Comics (6 issues)
15. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Dynamite Comics (5,6,8)
16. Batman by DC Comics (693-713)
*Denotes Book started in 2011
**Goal: 70 Books
*** ST = Star Trek
TOS = The Original Series
TNG = The Next Generation
DS9 = Deep Space Nine
VOY = Voyager
SW = Star Wars
Brewster Rockit
Non Sequitur
The Devil's Panties
The Oatmeal
Player vs. Player
Posted at LiveJournal and Dreamwidth