SO Sorry !!

All my life I have tried to express myself in a way that would make me clearly understood. Well I have noticed a lot of traffic on one particular post. I realized that the title was a bit misleading. As such I have renamed that one post.

Now do not get me wrong I am pleasantly surprised when people all this world look at my blog and read my words. I am honored to have so many diverse individuals sharing my thoughts on particular subjects.

At the same time I doubt my blog will be viewed as many times as PSY's  video. However I am alright with that and though I have not blogged a lot lately I shall shortly. 

I know that not everyone will agree with everything I write and that is great. There is nothing, nothing like freedom of thought and the means of expressing it.

I am pleased that so many have viewed my tribute to the Russian moon rover. That robot deserves more attention and a lot of you out in the real world agree.

Take care and I promise to blog shortly.

Two Months till the END of the Mayan Calender !!

I would like to comment on something that is completely out of the media's radar. On December 21, 2012 the Mayan Calender ends and this means that everything we know will change. I got a feeling a few days ago that will not go away. Something is afoot in this world and I cannot get my finger on it.

Now I firmly believe that the world and all the poor humans on this planet will live on. However something will occur that will make us think more than twice about what it is to be human. If only we realized that in this vast , vast universe we truly are miracles of creation, we would treat ourselves and others maybe just a bit better.

Now those who read this will say where do robots come in here. After almost three decades of studying and building robots this fact has come up too many times. To do the most simple human action takes a great deal of effort.

So remember to appreciate who and what you are !!!

CURIOSITY IS ON MARS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is so early in the morning and I can breathe again! The people at JPL deserve congratulations! I have just seen pictures of the rovers wheels covered in Martian dust. Curiosity landed safely and survived its seven minutes of terror. Though it is an American effort we all can share in the pride of having another robot on another planet in the solar system.

It makes me very sad that the majority of people on this planet are not noticing this historic event. Even when it is brought to their attention they will shrug their shoulders and say or think so what !! I for one cannot wait to see what this machine will discover!!

In the big picture we see that robots are trailblazers for us mere humans. They go bravely ahead of us to prepare the way for us. Even though we have lost the vision and will a time will come when humans will be on Mars. In order to do this we must put aside our differences an concentrate what makes us one species, and robots are helping in this as well. What marvelous little creatures.

Rest Curiosity, there will be tomorrow for you to begin your work. Thank you for giving us all a new night.!!!!

Gold Goes to Curiosity !!

The Olympics is all well and good. However it occurs every two years and it sure takes up a lot of media time. Because of this stuff the brilliant event about to take place is being overshadowed. NASA is about to land another robot rover on Mars. I find this a lot more exciting than just mere sports.

This is an amazing event yet it will get only second or third page notice. I feel that as a species we have our priorities a bit mixed up. Once it lands it will explore the surface for evidence that there once may have been life on Mars. In a word WOW!!!!

Once the London games are history it will plod along for many years making one discovery after another. Now come on people this deserves some attention.

In His Image

   
      What inspires us to do the really important things in our life ?? These are the things that make a big difference to us and to our world. Inspiration is what happens to us usually when we are young and is not easy to forget. Inspiration makes us wiser, enlightens us, expands our vistas and does not limit us in any sense of the word. Change abounds within us and all around us. Time presses forever forward and we ride its crest into the future. Yet through all of  this, deep within our soul something remains unchanged. In turbulent times we stand upon it so that we do not falter. In happier times we rejoice we are in possession of it for it helps define who and what we are. It guides our actions and we emerge into our true selves. That is our inspiration.

      Each person on this planet can recall a moment when they realized that their life was going to change. When younger we were more open to new ideas and ways of thinking about things. This not to say that we are hardened to the point of insensitivity as we age. Let us just say that anything new is usually filtered and we add more complex filters as the years march forward. I remember as a youth being surprised and greatly impressed by what went on about me.

      I was a child in the sixties. The history in North America was very much in flux back then. I remember being very confused. This was a combination of growing up and understanding more of the outside world. As I matured I had great stretches of time when I was just trying to figure things out. Leaders that showed sensitivity , vision and hope were dramatically killed. New technologies were born and we were all excited by the great adventure of going to the moon. However this was also the era of Vietnam and the cold war. So mixed with going to school and learn the mathematics, science were the messy politics of the time.

      As a young person I looked to see what I could learn. Fortunately for me television was beginning to show how powerful a medium it would become. Most of the shows were used to keep us entertained. However even back then it was used by some gifted individuals to teach very important life lessons and broaden our minds.

      One such individual was a prolific writer, director, producer and certainly a genius in this new field of television, Rod Serling. His writing was amazing in the sense that although it was used by mass media, it actually spoke to us as individuals. He used fiction to hold a mirror to society and those of us who dwell in it. It was never done in a scolding manner but an enlightened fashion. He had many productions but the one I remember vividly was his show  The Twilight Zone. I shall not now try to explain in few words on so few pages what subjects it dealt with, for it would not do it justice. It was held by its viewers to high standards but at times it was inspiring to watch.

      A good story teller weaves a magical tale that is embedded with gems. We are certainly entertained as
 we watch but behind is a lesson which , if we are fortunate is quickly learned. The great stories are told throughout history because each generation must learn the lessons and not repeat costly mistakes and live well.  A story that has stayed in my mind was about one individual who tried to improve himself. He wanted to remove his flaws, as he saw them. The story begins with this person waiting in a New York subway platform. As he begins to suffer from a mental episode he is questioned by a religious zealot. He snaps back to reality but as she talks he begins again to slip and pushes her onto the tracks as the train arrives. A very disturbing beginning  and we are reassured that this not a dream by the introduction narration of Rod Serling.

      The title of this episode is In His Image. He goes to meet his girl-friend of four days. They go back to his home town but it has changed beyond his recognition. His aunt does not exist and there is an empty field where the school  where he was employed  was supposed to be. An unknown person is living in his house and people that he knew have been dead for years. Once again, as he is being driven back to New York by his friend he begins to lapse and he persuades her to leave him and take the car and go. Now we are coming to the unforgettable part that really, really shocked me when I was younger, oh so much younger. As he ran into the road a car comes from behind and barely misses him as he jumped clear. The person driving runs out in a panic and helps our hero. He does get up and looks at his left wrist where there is a huge gash, but no blood. The closeup of his face was unforgettable as he slowly looks at his injured arm. He pulls back a flap of skin to reveal not skin and bones and blood but electronic parts, circuits and a few flashing lights.

   

      He is shocked to see that he may not be what he thought he was. Later it is revealed by his creator, who looks just like him, that he is a mechanical device. His creator wanted a perfect copy of a human being, not a robot.  It is strange that I recall that moment of discovery with vivid detail. I also remember that I would check myself every time I was hurt to see if I was human. As children we wonder about so many things and this story had a huge impact on me. It made me think about what it was to be human. Is it because we have a body ?? Is it because we have consciousness ???  What is life ? Could we build robots with such sophistication ??

      These very questions guide me today. I have taken a path that was influenced by that show so long ago. I find the work of robot building completely absorbing and fascinating and look back with a sense of joy at this one episode. A last comment as I bring this long essay to a conclusion. Recently I got a copy of this very show and I watch it regularly. An excellent production, well crafted, well acted and I have it from beginning to end!! I usually do not look at it as I work away in my robotic workshop. However I stop and always look directly at the television at the moment he looks at his arm. Interesting that I would do that after all these years.
   

Megahertz

Megahertz is a word used to indicate the frequency of a digital pulse. It means a million pulses per second. The timing pulse is the heartbeat of all serial microprocessors. These days this pulse is well above the gigahertz range. Truly impressive when you consider that all microprocessors implement programs written for them one step at a time. The reason that it appears otherwise is in the skill of the writer of the software. These are the instructions that make the hardware work.

From the very beginning they have been very, very fast. As humans we think at great speeds but studies have shown that this is nowhere near the fantastic speed of these massively integrated circuits. Our consciousness and all the wonders that were conceived and accomplished is based on the singular fact that we possess a massively parallel , interconnected human brain. We have on the order of one hundred billion neurons each with about ten thousand connections. So that means that we have a lot of interconnections.

We are not serial but it is hard to imagine a million steps a second. Our eyes would not be able to see this speed if it was simulated on a flashing light emitting diode. We would see a constant light source. Actually the fastest speed that the human eye can see flashing is about sixty hertz or sixty flashes a second. The speed for these  most fascinating digital marvels is only increasing. It will be interesting to see how fast they will become.

Just a Quick LONG note

I have been busy lately but that is no excuse not to blog. Sadly my loyal computer that has served me and my family for many years stalled and then would not allow me to upgrade. When I rebooted the hard drive after saving all of my data it refused to give me a more modern version of internet explorer and that was making it impossible to do creative work. This blog site warned me that I had an older version and that would give me problems. Youtube is no longer supporting internet explorer 7 and that would make my wanting to learn about the wide subject areas I am interested in very ,very difficult.

As such I gathered my vast, or no so vast resources and bought another computer with a lot more memory in ram and all new systems. I was amazed that it was so easy to set up and it was soooo fast. So here I am bloging once more.

What also amazes me is the number of people who have taken an interest in my blog. This particular note is not going to be technical but I make no promises about the many future ones that are coming. I am pleased that my audience is from all over this wonderful world. I am humbled that you are reading these words. A most hearty hello to each and everyone of you.