IBMs Watson project has used AI techniques for a variety of things, perhaps most famously competing against humans on the gam show Jeopardy. It has even done an analysis of the characters in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice … Continue reading
For six years now Republicans have promised to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But while the House of Representatives has passed literally dozens of bills to repeal it (none of which actually got anywhere), they still haven’t been … Continue reading
The Farrelly brothers bring back the Stooges in the form of Sean Hayes (almost unrecognizable) as Larry, Will Sasso as Curly, and Chris Diamatopoulos as Moe. Hayes played the extremely gay character Jack on Will & Grace, Sasso was a … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I was in a doctor’s waiting room and heard a sincere but seriously misinformed person spouting nonsense about the Affordable Care Act. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think it was my place to do. … Continue reading
As you probably know, Gene Wilder died yesterday at the age of 83 from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. A number of good obituaries were published today, but some of them understate his contribution to Young Frankenstein. The screenplay is … Continue reading
John Oliver talks about politicians who use popular songs for self-promotion not merely without permission but often apparently without a lot of thought. Donald Trump has hilariously used “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” (at the end of the … Continue reading
You might suppose that North Carolina’s political culture would lean pretty far to the right. The state was part of the Confederacy, its schools remained segregated for about a decade after Brown v Board of Education, as of course did … Continue reading
Even more than vampires, zombies have been done to death. But there are two zombie movies I like, both British: Shaun of the Dead (which I really should get around to writing a review for) and this one. An old … Continue reading
I’m not a particular fan of Star Trek (or of Star Wars, for that matter, having seen only four of the films in that series), but I’ve nothing against people who are, and I rather like this home theater based … Continue reading
Here’s an amusing little video to encourage all American citizens to register to vote by showing five things that are harder to do, from playing the classic kids’ game “Operation” to naming from memory the major characters on Game of … Continue reading